From Bunny Hills to Bootleggers
by badge744
Summary: While in Colorado for Mike and Barbara Ann's wedding, as well as for a visit to Mikki's family, Pete, Mikki, and Jim find trouble at the hands of bootleggers while searching for Mikki's missing nephew.
1. Chapter 1

The licensed characters aren't mine; I only borrowed them for the use and abuse factor because they are so much fun to create stories around. Many thanks to the wonderful creators, as well as to the wonderful actors that put so much of themselves into what would otherwise be one-dimensional characters.

From Bunny Hills to Bootleggers

Chapter 1

© June 2010

"You're _what_?" Pete asked in disbelief, as he stood close behind Mikki, hands on either side of her waist. "I don't think I heard you, correctly." He chided.

"Pete Malloy, you heard me right, the first time; don't pretend that you didn't! Now I told you, I do _NOT_ want to do this!"

"That's not what I thought I heard; I thought I heard you say that you were _afraid_." Pete chuckled at the mere thought. He'd seen Mikki stare down the barrel of a loaded gun on a couple of different occasions and now she expected him to believe that there was something that she was actually afraid to try. He knew she had to be pulling his leg.

In a smaller, less forceful voice, "I'm scared to try this Pete. I can't help it, I just am. I've never done this before. It's gonna hurt…I just know it is!"

He laughed again, still sure that she was telling him a tall story, "Yeah, right…you're scared and you've never done this before. I hear ya; I don't believe ya, but I hear ya. I didn't fall off of the turnip truck yesterday, you know; besides, you're no stranger to pain and you've been through a lot worse than what could happen right now, so just relax, spread your feet apart just a little and bend slightly. It's all about technique. I promise you that you're gonna love it. I know I do…" By using his hands to apply a little pressure to her midsection, Pete managed to get Mikki into the position he wanted.

"Don't make me do this Pete, I mean it; I swear if you make me do this, I will…"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence before Pete cut her off at the pass with a determination that he normally reserved for use in dealing with criminals. "Now listen, Mikki, all week long you've talked about nothing else than wanting to try this; so much so, that just listening to you go on and on about it has made me excited about seeing you through your first experience at this. Now, I gave you a chance to back out earlier, but you insisted that you wanted to try, so, just close your eyes, pray, curse at me, or do whatever it takes to get you through this 'cause it's gonna happen right now, whether you want it to or not." And with those words, his hands tightened around her waist as he pulled her backwards, towards his body. He then gave a forceful shove that sent Mikki spiraling down the bunny slope at lightening speed. She was screaming and cursing at him all the way.

He threw his head back and gave a hearty laugh as he watched her descent. He quit laughing, though when she lost her balance halfway down and went sprawling head over skis. "Ooohhh…she wasn't joking; that probably did hurt. Guess I'd better go schmooze her over." He muttered to himself, before pushing off with his ski poles. Gliding down swiftly, he expertly slid to a stop next to where she lay, in a crumpled heap, at the bottom of the slope.

He looked down at her sheepishly, "Uhm…you okay?" He smiled slightly and tried to loosen the mood of the moment, "You know, it was quite a comical site from up there." He added as he pointed over his shoulder toward the top of the hill. The icy glare that he was received discouraged him from saying anything else.

Mikki gritted her teeth together to stop them from chattering, partly from the chill of the snow beneath her and partly from the rush of adrenaline coursing through her at the moment. She glared up at Pete for what felt like to him a brief lifetime before she held out a hand and demanded, "Help…me…up!"

Pete reached toward her and when their hands connected, Mikki grabbed on with both hands and quickly pulled Pete down into the snow with her. His skis popped off, and in one lightening flash move, before he could react, she managed to flip him onto his back, straddle his hips and pin his hands above his head. Bending forward, she claimed his lips in what could only be described as the ultimate, passion-filled kiss. He was more than willing to be an eager participant, figuring that if she was kissing him, then she probably wasn't too upset with him. He relaxed and let her have her way with him.

Breaking the kiss, she reared back, "OH MY GOD! THAT WAS AWSOME, EXHILERATING _AND _FANTASTIC, ALL ROLLED INTO ONE! I wanna do it again!" She exclaimed, breathlessly.

Pete lay on his back, smiling; he had rather enjoyed it himself and decided that if that was what she wanted, he wasn't going to argue, even if the snow was a little cold on his backside. "Well, go ahead; I won't stop you. You know I always enjoy your kisses."

"Huh?" Mikki asked skeptically. "What are you rambling about?"

"You said you wanted to kiss me again. You said it was 'awesome and exhilarating', _and, _I believe I even heard you use the word 'fantastic.' He had a dreamy smile on his face. Yeah, he had enjoyed he kiss, the evidence beneath her bottom left no doubt in her mind that he had enjoyed it thoroughly.

"No, you idiot…not the kiss; I'm talking about the trip down the bunny hill. That was fun! I wanna do it again!" Her face was lit up like a thousand-watt bulb.

Pete looked at her like she'd grown two heads. After the passionate kiss she had just planted on him, her only thoughts were on going down the bunny hill again? He couldn't believe it. "And _I_, wanna do _this, _again." Expertly, he turned the tables on Mikki and flipped her over so that she was on her back in the snow and he was straddling her hips; pinning her hands above her head, he leaned in and claimed her lips in a long, hard kiss. Pulling away, he asked, "Now, what did you say you wanted to do again?"

"I said, bunny-hill be damned; I wanna go back to the lodge." The look in her eyes promised him that more than just another passion-filled kiss was on the horizon.

"That's what I thought. It's so nice that we can be on the same wavelength…and so often, too."

Mikki giggled and patted Pete on the rump. "Uhm huh, now help me up before my derriere gets frostbite. I don't think I'd enjoy that at all!"

Laughing, he helped her to her feet, "No, I don't suppose that would be very pleasant." They picked up their ski poles and skis, and made their way to top of the hill where Mike was getting ready to give Barbara Ann a ski lesson.

"Geez…you two are something else, you know that. From up here it looked like you were gonna do the deed right down there in the snow. You'd think it was you two that just got married, instead of Barbara Ann and me! Even _we _are taking time out of the 'wedding duties' to enjoy some skiing." Mike teased, as Barbara Ann blushed at the references being made by her new husband.

Pete cleared his throat, and looked a little on the red side, "Uhm, hi there…I uhm…well, I didn't know we had an audience."

"Yeah, obviously not. Look at that bare spot at the bottom of the hill…I think the two of you must've melted all the snow within a twenty-foot radius. You know, just because it's called the 'bunny hill', doesn't mean you gotta hit the bottom and then go snoggin' like a couple of ornery little bunnies."

"_Mike! _Don't you have a ski lesson to give to your bride?" Mikki shot at him, cutting him off short and causing him to let out a hearty laugh. She could see that poor Barbara Ann looked a little uncomfortable at the compromising position she had witnessed the two of them in, along with the unspoken innuendo of what she and Mike had been doing in the lodge before coming out to join Pete and Mikki on the slopes.

Pete quickly changed the subject, hoping to spare Barbara Ann any further discomfort; "Did you two happen to run into Jim and Jean up at the lodge? They were supposed to meet up with us awhile ago, but they haven't shown up yet."

"Uhm, yeah, Jim was just coming out of their room when we were leaving ours to come down here. I don't think he had skiing on his mind though…he was in his robe and heading to the ice machine with the ice bucket. You should've seen the look on his face when he ran into us." Mike offered.

"Oh, well, then I guess that explains why they didn't make it down here, then." Pete commented with a chuckle. "But then again, the way Jim talked, this is the first real 'alone' time that he and Jean have been able to enjoy in nearly a year. Last time they planned a weekend away, Jimmy came down with the flu, so they cancelled. I am really surprised that Jean agreed to leave Jimmy with her sister all week so she and Jim could get away, to tell you the truth."

Mikki chuckled, "We'll if that's the case, we'll be lucky if they get out of the lodge room at all, then. Good thing for room service, huh?"

"Yeah, I'd hate to tell Mac that I brought Jim back malnourished and unable to do his job. It's bad enough that now I'll have to explain why he's coming back completely exhausted from what is supposed to be a relaxing week off!"

The two couples laughed and talked for a few more minutes, making plans to meet up for dinner at six o'clock before Mike and Barbara Ann took to the bunny slope, leaving Pete and Mikki to walk, arm in arm, back to the lodge, chatting as they went.

"You sure you don't want to stay out here and ski awhile longer, Pete? I'll be fine playing on the bunny hill if you want to try one of the slopes for the more experienced of skiers." Mikki knew he'd been looking forward to this for a couple of weeks and she wanted to make sure he had time to do some real skiing.

"No, Babe, I'm fine. We can hit the slopes a little later on. Right now, I just want to spend some time with you…frolicking where we can frolic in private, and finish what we started earlier in public." He squeezed her a little closer to his side as they walked.

Mikki smiled up at him as she thought about how ecstatic Pete had been at the prospect of coming to Aspen for Mike's wedding. He and Jim had both taken a couple of days vacation, in conjunction with normal days off and they had arrived by airplane two days prior, on Thursday.

The wedding had taken place on Friday, in front of the lodge fireplace. It was a small wedding, with only Mike's close family and friends, in attendance. Barbara Ann didn't have any family left, so she wasn't set on a big wedding. Mike's mother had finally gotten over the idea of Mike marrying someone _other _than Mikki, and was quick to warm up to Barbara Ann; she then look a liking to Pete, and tried her best to push for a double wedding. Thankfully, Pete handled the situation very tactfully, telling Mrs. Sanchez that he and Mikki didn't want to take any of the focus off of Mike and Barbara Ann; after all, it was their day, and he and Mikki might soon have their own. That seemed to pacify Mike's mom, for which both Pete and Mikki were thankful.

Mike's family had spent the night at the lodge and had then left early that very next morning, for the return two-hour drive to their ranch, just outside of Denver. Mike and Barbara Ann were going to spend the week at the lodge and then drive their rental car to his parents' house for a few days before flying back to Los Angeles.

Pete, Mikki, Jim and Jean had also rented a car, and were going to drive to Mikki's parent's house the next day, Sunday, where they would spend two nights and then drive back to the airport in Aspen on Tuesday afternoon, to take the evening flight back to Los Angeles. Scheduled to touch down at the Los Angeles airport near midnight, Pete and Jim would have about twelve hours after returning home, before they would have to report for work on that Wednesday afternoon.

Mikki hadn't wanted to visit her family, but she knew that if she were in Colorado, and didn't visit home, she'd never hear the end of it. She just prayed that she would be able to get along with her siblings _and_ her parents for the nearly forty-eight hours that they would be there. She was also thankful that Pete, as well as the Reeds, would be there to act as buffers.

"Yoo-hoo, earth to Mikki." Pete said, leaning slightly forward and looking into her eyes as they walked. "Did you even hear anything I just said?" He questioned with chuckle.

"Huh?" Mikki asked, startled out of her silent reverie of wondering how her visit with her family would go. "Uhm, no…I'm sorry, what'd you say?"

"I said, I really am sorry for sending you flying down the hill. I really thought you were kidding when you said you'd never skied before, especially with growing up in Colorado. You didn't hurt yourself, did you?"

_Hmm…I can play this to my advantage, _Mikki thought, with a delicious little smile. "Mmmm, well, I don't know; I probably won't know for sure until we get to our room and you check over every inch of my body for injuries. And I mean really, really _closely _check…you know, help me flex muscles that don't normally get flexed, maybe give me a massage with some warm, aromatic oil."

"Warm, aromatic oil? And pray tell where am I supposed to get that? I seriously doubt they sell it in the lodge gift shop." Pete's voice dropped a little as they entered into the lodge and walked up the steps leading to their room.

"Nope, probably not, but I happen to have it on good authority that I have a bottle packed safely away in my suitcase. I suppose I could be persuaded to let you have _that _bottle."

"Oh, and just what would I have to do to persuade you?" Pete's voice took on a sexy, low, growling sound.

As they neared the door, Pete took the room key from his pocket and unlocked the door, opening it and allowing Mikki to go in first. Mikki shrugged out of her coat, then her ski clothes and lay down on the bed and said, "Anything you want to do, Dear…anything you want." It didn't take Pete very long to shed his garments and join her on the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

From Bunny Hills to Bootleggers

Chapter 2

© June 2010

"Okay, that's it, Pete; the suitcases are all in the trunk. Where are the girls?" Jim inquired as Pete checked the fluids and tire pressure on the rental car.

"I think they're still up in the lodge dining room finishing their coffee. I'm just about finished here, why don't you run up and light a fire under them so we can get on the road. Mikki said it's a two hour drive to her folks house and I was hoping to get there at a decent time."

"Yeah, I'll do that." Jim agreed and then bounded off for the lodge, as Pete finished up with the car.

Soon the two couples, Mikki and Pete in the front, the Reeds snuggled together in the back, set out for the two-hour drive to Mikki's childhood home. Pete knew Mikki was dreading the visit and he reached out to momentarily give her hand a reassuring squeeze. She responded with a small smile in his direction and then slid over on the seat, just a little closer to him and rested her hand on his thigh; he knew she was drawing on his strength and confidence that everything would go well. Seeing her so unsure of herself wasn't something that he was accustomed to and in it's own way, it rattled him a bit. He only wished that he could say something to help her overcome that ill at ease feeling about going home.

From the back seat Jean let out a small giggle, followed by Jim stifling a laugh and shh-shing his wife. Soon, the sounds of light kissing and more giggling floated up to the front seat. Mikki didn't ask what was so funny, and Pete just rolled his eyes and avoided looking into the rearview mirror, afraid of what he might see going on between his partner and his wife.

"How far of a drive is it, Babe?" Pete asked, hoping that some conversation would drown out the lovebirds in the back seat.

"Just a little over two hours. It's about a half-hour southeast of Denver; a little town called Parker. It's such a small town that we just pretty much tell everyone we are from Denver since nobody has ever heard of Parker. Mike's childhood home and my childhood home sit on opposite sides of Cherry Creek, which feeds off of the South Platte River. It's peaceful there."

"Oooh…resort type waterfront property, huh?" Pete laughed.

"Hardly what I would call 'resort', but definitely near water…or at least a creek of water… and definitely property." Her voice didn't hold any inflection of humor, and she seemed to be zoned into another world again.

Pete cast a concerned glance at her and reached down to give her hand another quick squeeze, as she rested her head on his shoulder. He was more than a little concerned at Mikki's reluctance to go home, and he caught himself lost in thought, _Surely_, _her family can't be THAT bad._

The two-hour drive passed quickly, despite the lack of conversation in the car. With the radio on, there wasn't much need for conversation as the two couples pressed onward. Mikki and Pete were both lost in their own thoughts, and the Reeds were lost in each other as they cuddled in the back seat.

"Take this exit, Pete." Mikki directed as they came up on a road sign indicating that Parker was just a half a mile up the road.

Pete signaled and veered off at the exit and then followed Mikki's verbal directions through the one stoplight town. He wasn't sure exactly _what_ he was expecting, but it wasn't anything like this. From what he could see, the town had a Post Office, a barbershop, a small deli, a city hall and a feed store. There were one or two other small businesses that lined the main street, but he hadn't been able to catch what they were.

"You're speeding." Mikki advised as she peeked over at the speedometer. "You'd better slow down or Sheriff Tull will pull you over. He's famous for his speed traps, and take it from me, he doesn't believe in doling out professional courtesies. My last trip home netted me an eighty-five dollar fine and two-hours of community service."

"So what is the speed limit in this one horse town, anyway? I didn't see it marked anywhere."

"Twenty-five, through town. Once we reach that red barn up yonder, you can jack it up to forty-five."

"Up _yonder_? Is that what you just said? _Yonder?_ Is that how they talk in Parker?" Jim laughed from the back seat. He promptly let out a yelp when Jean elbowed him and told him to behave and mind his manners. After all, the last thing Jean wanted Jim to do was offend Mikki or her family in any way.

"Only if you's was borned and raised here, cowboy." Mikki laughed, figuring that she had just better resign herself to lightening the moment and making the best of the visit.

Ten minutes out of town, Mikki instructed Pete to pull off of the road and down a stone-filled lane that seemed to have no ending as they continued to wind down the path that took them farther and farther from the road. On one side, there was a wide-open field with what appeared to be several hundred-head of cattle. On the other side of the winding path was a deep, green stand of forestry.

As they approached a wooden archway bearing a circle at the top with 'AB&C' in it, Pete exclaimed, "You _live _on a ranch?"

From the back seat, Jean could be heard exclaiming, "Oh Mikki, this is fabulous…look at all of the space…and the trees…"

"And the _steaks_!" Jim chimed in as he strained to take in the sight of all of the cattle.

As everyone laughed at his comment, Mikki said, "No, I don't _live_ on a ranch; I _live _in L.A., but I did grow up on a ranch. Mike grew up on the one right next to it, just a piece down the road."

"And separated by Cherry Creek?" Jim asked.

"Oh, so you and Jean weren't too busy neckin' in the backseat, to follow the conversation that Pete and I had?" Mikki questioned as she glanced back at them. They were both a pretty shade of scarlet. "Yes, separated by Cherry Creek, which runs clear back through the woods and winds around a little.

"Why would you leave _this_ to come to smog-filled L.A.?" Pete questioned, though he felt he already knew the answer. Mikki's dreams for her own life were much different than what her parents and siblings wanted for her; still, he had to wonder 'why?'

"I guess…just because I did." She quietly replied.

As the car approached the large, white, two-story farmhouse that Mikki grew up in, the front screen door opened and an older couple came out, hand in hand and descended down the front steps to await the newcomers.

Bringing the car to a stop and shutting off the engine, Pete reached down and gave Mikki's hand another squeeze before she opened the door and got out. The other three remained in the car for a moment longer, giving Mikki time to greet her parents before getting out.

"Mikki, dear!" Her mother gave her a gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Her father then stepped up and drew her close, as well, "Little Girl, it's good to have you home, again."

Mikki gave them both a smile and a hug, exchanging a few pleasantries as she motioned for her friends to come and meet her folks. "Ma; Pops, I'd like you to meet my friends." The three stepped forward for introductions and to shake hands with Mikki's mom, Aggie, and her dad, Ben.

"Welcome to the Circle AB&C" Ben offered as he tipped his cowboy hat to Jean and then extended his hand to Pete first and then to Jim.

Her parents seemed instantly taken with her friends, and as Mikki's mother whisked she and Jean off to the kitchen, Mikki's dad, along with Pete and Jim, had taken off towards the barn. No doubt her dad was going to give them the full-fledged tour, which meant that it would be dinnertime before she and Jean would be re-united with them. Mikki felt a little guilty for not forewarning the two men; but then, neither one of them seemed to mind going off with her dad.

Following her mom to the kitchen, Mikki and Jean both helped out with the supper preparations as she and her mother caught up. Jean fell into the conversations as though she'd been around Aggie Sanders all of her life.

Out in the barn, Jim and Pete were asking questions and being regalled with answers about ranching and life on a ranch.

"How'd the ranch get the name, Circle AB&C?" Pete asked.

"Well, son, it's like this," Ben began, as he clapped a hand on Pete's shoulder, "when we bought this place, we didn't have any young'uns, but we knew we wanted a slew of 'em, so we decided that we'd call the place, the Circle AB&C. Now see, the circle represents ongoing, continuous life; the 'A' is for my Aggie, and the 'B' is for my name, Ben; now the 'C'…well now, that's the fun part, 'cause see, we had to have a little fun in order to fulfill the 'C' part…the 'children.' Ben's eyes twinkled as he laughed at his longstanding explanation of how they came to call it the Circle AB&C. Pete and Jim laughed with him, although Pete wasn't sure how much laughter Ben would be willing to share with him if he knew that Pete and Mikki had had a little fun themselves and created a little 'c'. He quickly pushed the thought aside.

Ben checked his watch, seeing that it was nearing three o'clock. He looked down at his well-worn overalls and filthy boots and said, "Well, boys, let's giddy on up to the bunkhouse and get cleaned up a bit before supper. Aggie would have my hide if I tracked all of this muck into her kitchen." Both Pete and Jim glanced down at their own shoes and found that compared to Ben's, they were spotless. They smiled when Ben continued, "Oh you boys' shoes are fine; I watched ya watching where you stepped…you'd be smelling it by now if you'd stepped wrong, that's for sure."

The three men, having washed their hands in the bunkhouse, came into the kitchen and took seats at the table. Jean placed a bowl of tossed salad on the table, along with a basket of piping hot bread sticks. Mikki and Aggie followed close behind, Aggie with a pot of cream of potato soup and Mikki with a bowl of crumbled bacon pieces for the soup and a plate of various cheese slices. After the women took their seats, Ben said the blessing and the group loaded their bowls and salad plates. The conversation was lively, and much to Mikki's relief, little talk of her job was mentioned. She wasn't sure how much her folks had heard about what had transpired just a few months prior, and she just as soon they not talk about it.

"Janey and the family are stopping by later on. She misses you, you know. And she wants to talk to you about something." Aggie directed to Mikki.

"She does?" Mikki questioned, slightly surprised. She couldn't recall much that she and Janey even had in common.

"Yes…I don't think she and Bob are getting on too well these days. I think that's why she wants to talk to you." Aggie continued.

"Janey is my sister and Bob is her husband." Mikki supplied, for the benefit of her friends. "They have four-year old boy, Adam, and an eight month old baby girl, Sally. " Then turning her attention back to Aggie, "What kind of problems are they having, Ma?" As always, when she came home, Mikki found herself slipping back into the familiar speech that she had worked so hard to leave behind her when she ventured out on her own eight years prior.

"Oh, your sister has her head full of ideas; she thinks she's missing out on life by staying home and raising her children. Can you imagine that?" Aggie's voice held a begrudging tone. "I can't imagine _where_ on earth she could've _ever_ come up with that idea."

"Now, Aggie, you know you can't go airing the kid's business. They're gonna work through it, you just wait and see. Don't be troublin' Mikki with Janey's problems. Beside, Janey don't have near the gumption that Mikki has, and she'd never make it on her own; she needs a man in her life."

Mikki could tell that Pete, Jim and Jean were uncomfortable hearing about her family's problems; she wasn't too crazy about hearing Janey's dirty laundry being aired, herself, so she smoothly changed the subject, picking something that she knew would easily throw her father off of the subject of Janey. "Uhm, say Pops, do you still have that mean old bull?"

"Samson, ya mean?" Ben quirked a questioning eyebrow.

"Yeah, Samson."

"Yeah, we still have him penned up in his own corral. He's too damned mean to put with the others and your ma says that he's too damned mean to slaughter for steaks, too, so we just keep feeding him and using him for…well, you know…breeding purposes."

"Hmm, rough life for him, huh?" Mikki laughed.

"Well, I don't know, that don't sound so bad to me." Jim commented with a smile and ornery glint in his eye. Pete nearly choked on a spoonful of soup at Jim's comment, while Jean blushed furiously.

"Now, Jim, y'all probably wouldn't be saying that if you'd see how we get that ornery old cuss' essence from him, that's for sure. He's too mean to share a pen, even for breeding purposes, so what we do is …" He didn't get to finish his story, as Aggie cut him off short.

"Now, Benjamin Grant Sanders, you keep that kind of talk away from our guests, and definitely away from this dinner table, ya hear!" Aggie piped in, shooting a warning look at Ben.

"Oh now, Ma, you know I wouldn't say nothing to offend our guests. Besides," pointing to Jim and Jean, "them two is married," and then gesturing to Pete and Mikki, "and I'd be willing to guess that these two have had a little fun themselves; after all, your baby girl and her beau weren't born yesterday." Smiling at the blushing foursome, Ben slurped a spoonful of potato soup just as Aggie reached over and twisted his earlobe in a playfully annoyed way.

Mikki rolled her eyes and wished the floor would open up and allow her to disappear as she thought _C'mon Ma, change the subject…change the subject…change…_

As if on cue, Aggie spoke up, "So, how was the wedding? Tell us all about it. We would have loved to been able to go, but we knew that we couldn't be away at the same time that Mike's parents were, not with needing to oversee things at both ranches and all. I hope Mike and his bride understood."

"Yeah, Ma, they understood, and Mike said that they'll stop over next week while they're in town so that he can introduce you to Barbara Ann. You'll like her, Ma, she's a really sweet girl." Mikki said, and then went on to explain to the others how the two families shared in watching over the daily ranching activities when the necessity arose for one of the families to be out of town.

"You run this place all by yourselves?" Pete questioned. He couldn't imagine Ben being the only one taking care of a ranch of this size, with all of the cattle that they had seen when they drove in.

"No son; I'm too old to do this by myself. I have six hired hands that help out on a daily basis. The Sanchez's have five that help out on their ranch. Thing is, Big Mike and I, well, we made it a pact, long ago when we both first started ranching, that we'd never both be away at the same time. Even with dependable hands, there is always something that comes up and needs decision-making attention."

Small talk continued as the group finished their early dinner. After generous slices of rhubarb pie and coffee for desert, Mikki and Jean insisted that Aggie retire to the family room with the men while they cleaned up the kitchen. Aggie was just about to argue, when Pete threw an arm across her shoulder and asked her if there were any pictures of Mikki as a youngster. Much to Mikki's dismay, and Pete's delight, Aggie was only too happy to oblige his request. From the kitchen, Mikki and Jean could hear some very lively laughter as Aggie showed off the family albums.

"I'd say your folks have really taken a liking to Pete, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I can't believe that he talked Ma into getting the picture albums out though! How embarrassing." Mikki laughed.

"I didn't realize that your family and Mike's family were so close. I think that is so sweet how close they are." Jean commented to Mikki, as the two of them cleared the table.

"Oh yeah; our families have always been close. Heck, I practically lived at Mike's house and he at our house, when we were growing up. It was like having two sets of parents…doesn't leave much room for getting into mischief without getting into trouble, though!"

Jean laughed, "And just _why_ do I have the feeling that you and Mike got into _alot_ of mischief?"

Mikki giggled, "Because we _did_!"

Jim came into the kitchen, holding four coffee cups, "Hey, I don't mean to interrupt, but I just wanted to refill these cups."

"Oh, here, Honey, let me help you." Jean took two of the cups and refilled them, handed them back to Jim so he could take them into the family room; she then filled the other two and gave them to Jim when he came back in.

"Thanks, Hon." Jim gave Jean a quick peck and went back in the other room.

"Jean, grab yourself a cup and go on in; I'll finish up out here. Besides, if you don't visit with Ma and Pops now, you won't have much of a chance after Janey and her brood gets here. They have a very commanding presence, and don't share the limelight well."

"Well…I _would_ like to have a peek at those picture albums, but…"

"Go!" Mikki laughed and pointed her finger towards the other room. Jean took off without further prompting, leaving Mikki to finish up with washing the last of the dishes as she gazed out through the kitchen window towards the wooded area behind the house.

Lost in thought, Mikki nearly jumped out of her skin when Pete came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist, and whispered in her ear, "Hey Babe…what are ya thinking about?"

Grabbing a dishtowel and quickly drying her hands, Mikki turned easily in Pete's arms and slid her hands up his chest and around to the back of his neck, where she clasped them together as she smiled at him. "I'm thinking about you. It seems you invade my thoughts on a quite regular basis, Officer Malloy."

"Mmm…you're thoughts aren't the only thing I'd like to be invading right now." Pete whispered as her drew her a little closer, not leaving anything to her imagination as to where his thoughts were.

"Pete! Shhsh! Ma and Pops will hear you!" Mikki's face was flame red at the thought that her parents might hear them.

"Let he who has ears, hear, then." Pete nuzzled her ear and whispered, "I love you Mikki Sanders, and I just want to kiss you long and hard, right now."

"Then _kiss_ her already!" Aggie's voice sounded from behind him, and it was Pete's turn to jump slightly and glow red in the face. Aggie shook her head and laughed before telling Mikki, "Janey and her family just pulled in. Leave the rest of those dishes. I'll take care of them later."

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, Mikki grabbed Pete's hand into hers and they followed Aggie back into the family room. She couldn't put her finger on in it, but she just wasn't overjoyed at the prospect of seeing her sister and her family.

Sensing her apprehension, Pete gave her hand a little squeeze and he flashed her one of his comforting smiles, silently willing her to feel a little less uptight.


	3. Chapter 3

From Bunny Hills to Bootleggers

Chapter 3

© June 2010

The front door opened and Janey and Bob noisily made their way in, with Janey carrying baby Sally and Bob carrying little Adam. Behind Bob, much to Mikki's dismay, came Billy, Bob's younger brother, and a real thorn in Mikki's side.

Billy had been nothing but trouble for as long as Mikki had known him. He'd had more run-ins with every local sheriff within a forty-mile radius and always seemed to have an uncanny way of talking his way out of going to jail. Despite Mikki's continuous discouragement, Billy insisted on sidling up to her and trying to sweet talk her into a date every time she visited the ranch. As introductions were made, Mikki caught the dark and brooding look that came over Billy when Mikki introduced Pete as her boyfriend. To say that he looked a bit peeved would have been putting it mildly.

"Oh…you have a beau?" Janey questioned in surprise. "How…nice? I was kind of hoping that maybe you and Billy could hook up while you were home." The comment left no doubt in Mikki's mind that Janey was the one who had asked Billy out to the ranch, in hopes of getting Mikki to go out with him; after all, Janey thought that her brother-in-law was a prize catch.

"Yes, Pete and I are seeing each other, Janey; don't look so shocked. L.A. has a whole sea of fish; most of which are decent, law-abiding and upstanding citizens, so, despite whoever _you _may see as a good catch for me, my heart belongs to Pete, so lay off on the matchmaking, already. Got it, _Sis?_" Mikki's warning look to both her sister and to Billy left no doubt that the matter was not open for discussion.

"Let's all sit down and catch up, shall we?" Aggie interjected before her dueling daughters could take the matter any further. As they all made their way to various seats, Aggie hurried out to kitchen to put on a fresh pot of coffee.

"So, Mikki, what's so interesting in L.A. that you decided to stay out there and not come back here where you belong?" Her brother-in-law, Bob, asked in a tone dripping with disgust. He had never hid his obvious dislike for his sister-in-law's profession in the past, and it was obvious that he wasn't going to start hiding it now, either.

"My job." Mikki deadpanned.

"What do you do…Pete? It is Pete, right?" Billy's tone was even more scathing and sarcastic than Bob's tone had been. It was clear to all that Billy felt that Pete was treading on his turf as far as Mikki was concerned.

Smiling slightly while placing his arm around Mikki's shoulders, drawing her close, and tilting her chin up so he could brush a gentle kiss across her lips, before answering, "I'm a police officer; how about you, Billy? It is Billy, isn't it?" Pete was making it clear that he wasn't intimidated in the least by the thug sitting directly across from him and staring daggers through him.

"I'm what you would call an entrepreneur. I see a need for something and I find a way to fulfill that need by starting my own various businesses."

"And?" Jim joined in, not liking the looks that Billy was throwing at his partner.

"And right now, I'm working on brewing up something pretty special, so you'll understand if I don't say anything else about it right now. Can't have it known, just yet." Billy barely spared a glance at Jim as he spoke. He then turned his attention towards Jean, "How about you, pretty lady. You a lady cop, too?"

Jean, who had instantly taken a disliking to both Billy and Bob, spoke defiantly, "No, I am not a policewoman; I am a housewife and a mother and I am very happy with that, thank you."

"Wish my wife were happy with that. She seems to think that Mikki's life is all glamour and glitter." Bob sulked.

"Just stop it, Bob; I'm not discussing this in front of Mikki and her friends." Janey firmly stated. "Besides, right now, Mikki and I are going to take a walk so we can catch up for a little bit." Janey's tone told Mikki that she had something important to discuss and she watched as Janey bent to pick up baby Sally from where she was laying on the floor; she then plopped the little girl onto Bob's lap, "Here, do your 'daddly' duty and watch your daughter."

"Can I go, too, mommy?" Little Adam asked as he shyly looked from his mom to his aunt.

"Of course, honey; go get your coat from grandma." The little boy scampered off to the kitchen in search of his grandma and his coat.

Mikki cast a quick sideways glance towards Pete, who smiled and nodded ever so slightly, "Go on, Babe; you and your sister need some time to catch up. We'll stay here and visit with everyone."

"Thanks." Mikki whispered in Pete's ear and then gave him quick kiss. The icy stare that the two were getting from Billy was enough to freeze a polar bear.

"Jean, why don't you come with us." Mikki offered. She didn't want to leave her friend out.

"No, you two go on ahead. I want to visit with your mom some more and finish looking at those photo albums."

"Okay then. We'll be back in a bit." Mikki offered as she followed her sister and nephew through the door and headed toward the woods. There were several paths through the woods that they had traipsed and trampled through as kids. Even now, many years later, Mikki knew the woods like a well-familiar jigsaw puzzle; knowing what led to where and how to find her way back, even off the beaten path.

Adam ran about forty feet ahead of his mom and aunt. This made Mikki nervous. She knew there weren't any perverts in these woods, but she also knew that a little boy could easily get lost amongst the many trees. "I don't think you should let him run that far ahead, Sis."

"Oh for heavens sakes, Mikki, quit being a damned cop for one day, will ya? There aren't any of your child-hurting perverts in these woods." Janey quickly chastised.

"No, I don't imagine there are, but there are a lot of other things that he could get hurt with; fallen trees, rocks, wild animals, snakes…"

"God, do you _always_ have to be such the cop? Can't you ever just _enjoy _life and it's grand little freedoms, like running freely in the woods?"

Mikki threw her hands up defensively and blew out an exasperated breath, "Look, Janey, I'm not gonna fight with you. If you want to let him run, let him run…just keep him within sight, is all I'm saying. You know that the creek rapids run fast this time of year with the winter thawing and all."

As though she didn't even hear what Mikki was saying, Janey launched into her reasons for wanting time alone to talk to her sister. As they walked, Janey talked and Mikki listened, while watching out for her nephew and interjecting the appropriate responses to Janey's troubles, as she saw fit. When it started to turn to dusk, Mikki thought that they should turn around and head back. Having momentarily lost sight of Adam, she hollered for the little boy, but he didn't come back towards them. She hollered a few more times and when he still didn't resurface, she began to feel a familiar pit forming in her stomach.

"Janey, holler for him." Mikki said, thinking that maybe he would respond quicker to his mother's voice. When several attempts to call for him, failed, Mikki knew something was wrong. Janey finally sensed it too and turned a frightened look towards her younger sister.

"Where is he, Mikki?" She asked, the note of panic coming through loud and clear.

"Just calm down, Janey. Keep hollering for another few minutes. He's probably just playing hide and go seek with us. If he's not out here in another couple of minutes, I'll stay in here and keep looking while you go back and grab the guys and some flashlights. He's only four and he couldn't have gone far. Mikki's voice was coming across a lot more calmly than what she felt at that moment. Even a four-year-old could make hasty steps and find trouble in the darkened woods; especially a darkened woods, with a rapidly running creek going through it.

After searching and hollering for another few minutes, Mikki turned to her teary eyed sister, "Sis, you need to go back and get Pops and the others. Tell them that Adam's missing and tell Pops to get a search party organized. It's a big woods out here and the temperatures are falling."

"No Mikki, I can't leave…what if he's hurt? He will need his mommy. Oh Mikki, why didn't I just tell him he couldn't come along!" Janey was openly crying.

Mikki gathered her sister into her embrace for a brief moment before pulling away and telling her, "Janey, listen to me. You need to pull yourself together and go get help. We're gonna find him, but we can't waste time, so do like I said and go get Pops and the others. It will be totally dark soon, so you need to hurry."

Janey just stood there, looking around, hoping to spot the little boy. Mikki grabbed her by both shoulders and shook her, "Janey! Go…_NOW!_

Holding back a sob, Janey nodded and took off through the woods towards the farmhouse while Mikki turned and continued farther into the woods while yelling for Adam. She could hear the rushing water of the nearby creek running through the woods. _Oh, Lord, heavens help him if he falls into that creek. _The thought sent a shudder through her.

_Think Mikki…think like a four-year old…where would you go if you were exploring in these woods?_ The only thought that crossed her mind, besides the creek, was the old abandoned site where her great, great grandfather had built a cabin many, many years ago when the family had first settled in the area. Though the cabin itself was long gone, the old stone fireplace still remained. Recalling how it held a certain attraction when she was a kid, and Mikki couldn't help but wonder if Adam found the old fireplace as fascinating. Part of her hoped not though, because she knew that somewhere in the area of where that very first cabin had stood, there was a dried up well that had been boarded off years ago.

* * *

Adam looked behind him and didn't see his mom or his aunt. He ran back in the direction that he thought they would be, but didn't see them, so he turned around a time or two. Nothing looked familiar to the little boy and he couldn't remember which way he had come. "Mommy? Mommy, where are you?" He called out, in a small and frightened voice, but not receiving an answer. He continued to walk along the path that he was on, calling out for his mother every so often. The night was beginning to fall around him and he could barely see where he going as he walked off of the path and deeper into the forest of trees.

The night was full of all kinds of noises, the kinds of noises that often scare adults, not to mention small children. The frightened little boy pressed onward, crying out for his mom, as he walked. He could hear water rushing in the distance. He could hear other noises, too, but those noises that didn't sound familiar to him. He could hear pounding and hissing, but, even as scared as he was, he continued toward the sounds until he came across the old stone fireplace that he had heard his mom talk about. He knew he wasn't lost then. There was a nice little fire going in the fireplace, and just a short ways from the fireplace was the noisemaker.

Adam walked up to the contraption that was banging and hissing, careful not to get too close. It was a big machine with pipes and coils coming of it and going into other parts of the machine. Several feet away, there was another odd-looking machine that was running and making a lot of noises. It had a long cord that was hooked from it to the other machine. Fascinated, Adam sat down in front of the fireplace and continued to watch the two machines as they worked together, making their banging and clanging noises; noises that were loud enough that Adam had to cover his ears. Soon the heat from the fire was making the little boy groggy and he curled up on the cold ground and drifted off to sleep, not hearing the two men that came upon him moments later.

"Hey Lance, ain't that one of the Sander's grandkids?" The first guys whispered.

"Yeah, kind of looks like Janey and Bob's son. Wonder what he's doing out here all by his self." The second guy whispered back.

"Maybe he came out with Billy or something. I can't imagine Janey or Bob traipsing around in the woods at night."

"Then where's Billy?"

"I don't know…off taking a whiz, maybe."

"You s'pose he's okay, Lance? Ya think that maybe we should put a coat or something under him? I mean, that ground has gotta be cold."

"I don't know Frank…go ahead and do what you want, I gotta check the gauges on good old Mildred here." Lance set about reading the temperature gauges and such, ignoring what was going on over by the other side of the still. He could have cared less about the child.

Frank took off his parka and then pulled out the lining of his coat. He figured that with the wool sweater that he had on under the parka, he'd be okay without the jacket liner for a little while. He figured that Billy was probably out there for the same reason, to check on the still, and then he'd be taking the boy back to his grandparents house and then Frank could have his liner back.

Gently he picked up the sleeping child whose eyes popped open with surprise as he screamed and began to shake violently.

"Hush boy, it's me, Frank. You don't gotta be afraid of me, I'm a friend of your Uncle Billy's. Where is he, anyway?" The child continued to shake and stare at the man.

"What's wrong, boy? Cat got your tongue?" The child continued to stare up at him with frightened deer eyes.

"C'mon boy, talk to me. Where's Billy? You are Janey's kid, ain't ya?"

Upon hearing his mothers' name, big tears slid down Billy's face. "I want my mommy."

"Yeah, kid, don't we all. You're mom's a nice piece of work for someone with two kids. Now come on, tell me where you're Uncle Billy is."

"I want my mommy." Adam repeated.

"Geez, kid, gimme a break will you. She's not out here."

"I want my mommy." This time Adam was crying a lot louder.

"What the hell you doing, Frank? That kid's making enough noise to wake the dead. Shut him up, will ya."

"I can't shut him up. He keeps asking for his ma. I think he's lost out here Lance."

"Not our problem, Frank…not our problem. We gotta get going back to the ranch before the old man misses us."

"What about the boy, Lance? What we s'posed to do with him?"

"Who cares what we do with him. We sure as the hell can't take him back to Sanchez' ranch with us. I guess we could drop him at the edge of the Sanders' land, but that's about it. Hopefully when they find him, he won't be able to tell them about this place or us."

"Mommy! I want mommy!" The frightened child was nearly screaming.

* * *

Trained to use all of her senses to observe possible danger, Mikki's ears were well attuned to the evening noises. The owls hooting, the wind blowing and branches snapping and creaking. She could even make out the sounds of an animal crying out. _Wait, _she thought, as she strained to hear better, _that's not an animal cry…that sounds like a child…yelling for it's mommy. It's gotta be Adam…c'mon baby, keep crying so Aunt Mikki can track where you're at. _Mikki continued through the forest of trees, the sound of the child's cry like a beacon in the falling darkness.

_What's that hissing…and pounding?_ _And, what's that other sound? A motor of some sort, maybe?_ Mikki wondered. The sound of the child's' cries was getting closer, as were the other noises. Mikki was just about to holler out when she hear the sound of two other voices. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but she did pick up on the names; Lance and Frank, and she swore she heard the name Billy, as well._ Well, I'll be damned, something's rotten in Parker, that's for sure, and I'm gonna find out what._

Quietly, Mikki continued on toward the voices and the sounds, until through the trees, she could make out the silhouettes of two adults. She didn't see the child, but she could hear him. She could also see, by the light of the fire in the old fireplace, that there was an odd-looking contraption that was making the hissing and pounding noises. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she'd stumbled on a bootleg still. Just a few feet beyond the still was the gasoline powered generator that was keeping the still going; that explained the motor sound that Mikki had heard.

_Who could possibly being brewing moonshine out here? _Suddenly, it dawned on Mikki who it could be when she remembered hearing Billy's name. _Damn him! That stupid jerk! What's he thinking, cooking that shit up…and on the folk's property! Idiot! _Mikki was more than a little peeved off, though not all that shocked, at the thought that her sister's brother-in-law could go so far as to pull a stunt like this.

Struggling to get a little closer, so she could possibly spot Adam, Mikki made a misstep into a rut and went down with a yelp, when her ankle gave way.

"Who's out there?" Lance demanded.

Mikki held her breath, trying to choke back the anguished sobs resulting from the pains that were shooting up from her left ankle. She didn't think she broken it, but she knew she wasn't going to be walking on it anytime soon. Still, she had to try; struggling to get up into a standing position, she let out a non-voluntary gasp when she tried to put pressure on her foot. She knew in an instant that her cover was blown when a large hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm, jerking her forward out of her hiding spot.

"Who are you and whatta ya doin' out here in the woods?" Demanded the man that had pulled Mikki out of hiding.

"I'm looking for my nephew…he's lost; I thought I heard him crying." Mikki could see the child sitting over near the fireplace. Other than looking scared and crying, he didn't appear any worse for the wear.

"Your nephew? You that Sander's girl that ran off to the city with Mike Sanchez and joined up with the Feds?"

_Okay, Mikki; this is not a good situation to be in. Agents that stumble on bootleggers don't usually live to tell about…especially when they don't have any backup. _Mikki's mind was revving up into overdrive as she thought about the best way to go about answering. She figured her best bet was to stall for time. "Is Adam okay? Adam, honey, are you alright? It's Aunt Mikki, honey, and I came to take you back to grandma and grandpops' house." Starting to take a step forward, once again, her ankle injury proved too painful and quickly dropped to the ground.

"Get up!" Than man yelled at her.

"I can't…I stepped in a rut over there and I think I broke my ankle."

"I said, get UP!" The man took her by the arm, jerked her up and forced her over towards the fireplace, where he shoved her down next to the little boy. Mikki cried out in pain and swallowed back the nausea that was threatening to make its way topside.

She looked down at the frightened child as he quickly climbed into her lap and buried his face into her jacket, crying for his mommy. Taking in several more brief gulps of air to stave off the threat of puking, Mikki adjusted the boy so that little pressure was on her injured leg, as she spoke to the child, "Shh…it's okay Adam, I'm gonna take you home in a little bit, okay? Just relax and sit real still for me, okay, honey?"

The child nodded.

"Now, I asked you just who the hell you are?" The man once again demanded.

Mikki looked up at him and her blood ran cold. _Where in hell did THAT come from?_ She wondered, as she took in the .38 that was pointed at her. "Mikki Sanders; who are you?"

"It don't matter who I am. All that matters is that I'm in charge here and I do the questioning, got it?"

"Lance, you suppose that if she's out here lookin' that there may be others out here lookin' too? Frank asked.

Lance stood there staring at Frank like he was an idiot. "Don't use my name, Frank. She don't need to know who we are."

"But if she's that agent chick that Billy goes on about, she could be trouble, Lance."

"I know that, _Frank_. Why don't ya just tell me something that I _don't_ know, huh."

"Well, Lance, what we gonna do?" It was clear to Mikki that the guy named Lance was the so-called brain behind the bootleg brewing scheme.

"I don't know…I need to think. Just shut up and let me think."

_And here's my opening_, thought Mikki with a slight smirk, "What's to think about? You've been caught brewing 'hooch', man. It's illegal; but then, you already know that don't ya, _Lance_?"

"Shut up!"

Mikki did as she was told; she didn't want to take a chance at inciting his fury towards her any more than it already was, especially with Adam sitting on her lap. _C'mon Janey, don't dally in gettin' the guys out here... _Mikki was thinking, before another thought popped into her mind, _Oh shit, I don't think Pete and Jim will have their off duty guns with them. Damn it, if they walk into this blind... _Mikki's could feel the dread in the pit of her stomach at the thought that Pete and Jim would be walking in, unarmed, and unaware of the danger facing them.


	4. Chapter 4

From Bunny Hills to Bootleggers

Chapter 4

© June 2010

"Pete, Jim, you fellas play pool or shoot darts? We've got us a game room down in the basement. You can make yourselves at home while I go batten down the ranch for the night. I'll only be about a half-hour and then I'll come and join you." Ben offered.

Jim spoke up, "That sounds like fun; what d'ya say Pete?"

"Sounds good to me, partner, but uhm…well, Ben, would you like us to help you before we head downstairs?"

"No, son; I don't actually _do_ anything this late in the evening. My hands take care of the nightly routine, I just go out and touch base with them for a little bit before callin' it quits in the evening."

"Oh, well, in that case, let's go shoot some pool, partner." Pete cast a quick smile towards Jim.

"You want to play two against two?" Billy asked, issuing his challenge to the two outsiders.

"Sure!" Pete and Jim both spoke at the same time, accepting the challenge.

"Then let's go, then." Bob said, getting up and gesturing the way with his hand. Pete and Jim followed Billy to the basement game room, while Bob brought up the rear.

They were well into the second game of pool, Pete and Jim winning the first game hands down, when they heard the back door slam and a panicked Janey rambling about something. Nobody in the basement could make out the words clearly, but with their cop instincts kicking in, Pete and Jim were up the stairs in a heartbeat, fearing that something bad had happened. Bob and Billy sauntered, unworriedly, up the stairs.

In the middle of kitchen, Janey stood, crying and sputtering something about Adam being gone and Mikki out looking for him. When Aggie and Ben finally had her calmed down enough to understand her, they all realized that Adam was missing in the woods.

Much to his credit, Bob stepped up and put his arms around his wife, "Janey, honey, calm down. We'll find him; he's only four and couldn't have gone far. You weren't gone that long. Besides, honey, you're super-sister is on the case. She'll find him." The last sentence was added with a touch of sarcasm that only served to rise Pete's blood to the near boiling point. This man's child was missing in a darkened woods, and all he wanted to do was stand there and criticize the one person that would move heaven and earth to find the little boy, even if it meant putting herself in harm's way, by traipsing through the woods at night. Even without any light, Pete knew that Mikki wouldn't stop looking until the child was home safe.

Pete and Jim exchanged glances as Jim placed an arm around Jean, who was holding little Sally, and gave a slight squeeze. He could tell by the look on her face that she was thinking about how she might be feeling right now if it were little Jimmy missing.

"It's starting to get dark, we'll need flashlights and lanterns." Ben stated. "Bob, go on out and rouse the ranch hands from the bunk house. Tell 'em to gather all the flashlights and lanterns and we'll meet up with them at the bunkhouse. I figure the more we've got out lookin', the better." Bob turned and quickly headed out through the back door.

Ben then turned to his wife, "Aggie, honey, you call over to the Sanchez's and get Big Mike and tell him what's going on. Chances are good that Adam's on this side of the creek, but if by some chance he fell in, it'll be easier to see him if we've got spotters on both sides." Aggie nodded and immediately went to the phone.

Janey let out an anguished cry. "He doesn't know how to swim!" She began to sob uncontrollably; quickly, Jean pulled from Jim's embrace and went to comfort the distraught woman, mumbling soothing words to her as she led her into the living room. Pete and Jim followed the ladies into the other room and then gently questioned Janey about the direction they should start looking, once in the woods. Billy had also followed along quietly; not so much out of concern for his nephew, but more out of sinister thoughts of how he could use the advantage of knowing his way through the darkened woods to do harm to Pete, if he could manage to get him alone.

"I know right where she's talking about." Billy piped in. Pete and Jim both looked up, surprised that the man had even followed them in there. He'd done so in such a quiet manner that neither man had sensed his presence.

The three men walked back into the kitchen and re-joined Ben, telling him where Janey had said to start looking. Ben spoke up and quickly pointed out, "We'll have more of a chance if we all pair off, two and two. Jim, you can go with Bob; Pete, you go with Billy. I'll pair up with one of the hands. Aggie, honey, you and the girls stay here in case he makes his way back without any of us seeing him. If he gets back here, take the rifle and fire three shots to signal us." With that, he kissed his wife, Bob hugged Janey, and Jim hugged and kissed Jean. The men then set out to meet the ranch hands at the bunkhouse before heading towards the edge of the woods.

"C'mon; we'll go this way, Jim." Bob motioned toward the left-hand trail when they reached the edge of the woods. "Billy 'n Pete can take the right-hand trail. They both end up at the creek, but there are few smaller trails that shoot off of each, so we'll have to check those, too."

"How far in is it before we reach the creek?" Jim questioned.

"Half, maybe three quarters of a mile; that's just with staying on the beaten path, though. Each smaller trail is different, but I don't think any of them go in more than a few hundred feet."

"So if he's walking on one of the smaller paths, he should be pretty easy to spot, then?" Pete asked.

"No, not the way these paths wind and curve. You ain't never been a woods before, or what?" Came Billy's sarcastic reply.

Pete was contemplating just how he was going to answer, when Ben stepped into the conversation before it could escalate, putting an end to Billy's verbal berating. "Billy, if you have a problem with going on this search, as Pete's partner, you're welcome to stay behind with the women."

"No Sir, I'll be going on the search." Billy's voice dropped and he had the decency to look chastised, though when Pete turned his back, Billy glared at him.

"Alright, then, you and Pete take the right trail." Ben then spoke further, "Stay together, and if you find the little guy, give a good loud shout, or shoot off a pistol if you have one on ya." He figured that Pete and Jim probably carried off-duty weapons, and it wouldn't have surprised him to find that Billy was carrying something that he had no business carrying. Once the other searching areas were doled out to the ranch hands, the search party split off and went their assigned ways.

* * *

"Adam!" Jim began yelling when he was about a hundred feet into the woods. Bob was doing his share of yelling, as well. The beams of their flashlights were bouncing around off of the trees, creating an eerie ambiance in the darkened woods. They could hear the other search parties, various distances away, hollering for the lost child, as well.

"Has Adam ever been in these woods alone, Bob?" Jim inquired.

"Nah, not alone." Came the worried father's reply. "He's a brave little guy, though, Jim…and tough. He'll be okay when we find him, you'll see." There was an underlying fear to Bob's reply; a fear that Jim could relate to.

Thinking back, Jim realized that it really hadn't all that long ago that he and Pete had come home on that rainy day, only to discover that Jimmy was missing, and that his neighbors niece, Mikki, was out looking for him. Jim smiled slightly, thinking back on the day that Mikki and Pete had met for the first time. And what a meeting it had turned out to be; they had hit it off immediately, and once she moved to L.A. on a permanent basis, their relationship had continued to grow, despite a few bumpy roads along the way. Jim shook off his thoughts and continued to holler for Adam as he and Bob forged on.

* * *

_Meanwhile, over on the right-hand trail…_

"I'll take this path and you take that one." Pete pointed to the path that shot off of the main trail about three-foot ahead of the one that he was taking, yet on the opposite side of the main trail. "We'll meet back up on the main trail before we move on."

Billy glared at him before speaking; "I have a better idea, _city boy_. Why don't you just take all the trails on that side and I'll take all of the trails on this side and we'll just meet at the river where the main trail ends…unless you're afraid you'll get lost, that is."

_God help me, I wanna do nothing more right now than slug this little punk in the mouth_. Pete snickered at the picture his thoughts were creating, as he answered, "Let's just stick to the plan, Billy, one trail at a time, okay."

Billy grunted, leaving Pete to assume that he understood the basic instructions that Pete had just issued, as he headed off on his path. Pete cast a quick glance over his shoulder, towards the path that Billy had taken. He couldn't put his finger on it, but Billy's reluctance to want to stay together cast an uneasy feeling in Pete's gut.

"Adam!" Pete shouted, listening intently to the night noises surrounding him. "Adam! Adam, are you in here, son?" Again, Pete could only detect the normal noises that hid in the dark. Once he reached the end of the path, he turned around and headed back out, repeatedly sweeping the flashlight beam back and forth, hoping to spot any clue that the child had been there any time recently.

Back on the main trail, Billy was pacing, "Took ya long enough to check that path didn't it?"

_So help me, I'm gonna hit him… _Pete glared at the man; "I like to be thorough; after all, the life a little boy may be dependent on that. Let's move." Pete pushed past Billy and pressed onward, careful not to let the man too far out of his peripheral vision.

"Stupid-ass!" Billy muttered and fell into step close behind Pete.

After about fifty foot, Pete stopped short and turned around, just as Billy collided with him. "What the hell you stop for?" Billy demanded.

Pete pointed to two more paths, one opposite the other, "I stopped so we could check these paths; but then, if you would bother to scan the area with your flashlight, you would be able to see the paths as we come up on them."

"Yeah, well, I don't do this shit for livin' like you do, lawman, so what the hell do you expect from me? Miracles?"

_That does it! _Pete thought as spun around to face the defiant little jerk that he'd been paired with. "Now you listen, and you listen good, _Billy." _Pete's green eyes were flashing in anger and he had his right hand raised, and the index finger extended and pointed right in Billy's face, causing the young man to seethe angrily at Pete's ensuing tongue-lashing. "You may not like me or my kind, meaning _lawmen_, and that's fine; nobody's gonna lose any sleep over it. We're out here for one reason, and one reason only, and that's to find a little boy that's lost. That little boy is _your_ nephew, in case you've forgotten that little bit of information. Now, with that being said, if you can't open your mouth to do anything but bitch, gripe, moan and complain, then just shut the hell up and sit your ass down or go back to the house with the women. I'll check the paths myself." Pete glared at the man for another few seconds before turning and heading down the path closest to him, hollering for Adam as he went.

Billy clenched and unclenched his fist as he watched Pete traipse down the chosen path. _I gotta keep him from reaching the river area this trail leads to…if I don't; he'll end up finding the still. Damn it; think, Billy, think! _Billy stood there, still glaring down the pathway that Pete had taken. He could hear him hollering and he could see the light beam from Pete's flashlight. _Awe to hell with the kid, I gotta get to that still before that cop does. _Decision made, Billy didn't bother to check the path that Pete wanted him to check, instead, he forged onward on the main trail, making his way towards the river and the still.

* * *

_Back on the left-hand trail…_

"If I remember right, Jim, there ain't any more paths on this trail; it's straight to the creek from here." Bob stated, with a distant worry in his voice.

Detecting the worry, Jim reach out and touched Bobs' shoulder, "He's gonna be okay, Bob. Somebody will find him, you'll see. We have a bunch of people out lookin' and Mikki's been looking since he first went missing. Try not to worry, okay."

"How many kids do you and your wife have, Jim?"

_Good, _thought Jim, _small talk will help keep his mind occupied while we are still searching. _"Just one; a little boy, Jimmy. He's nearly four."

"Hmm…bout the same age as Adam." Bob mused. "He ever been missing?"

"Well, yeah…as a matter of fact, he fell down into a storm drain awhile back, when Mikki first came to town and was staying next door to us, with her Aunt Gertrude. She heard Jean hollering for Jimmy and went out searching for him. When she realized that he was in the storm drain, she went in after him. It had been raining really heavy for a couple of days and the storm drains were rushing with water, but…"

"Mikki went in after him?" Bob asked, as if in disbelief. As they walked, and talked, they continued to sweep the area with their flashlights, pausing every now and then to yell for Adam.

"Yeah, Pete and I came across her kneeling down by the drain and she started spouting off orders and then…

Bob again interrupted Jim, "She really went down into a storm drain? Mikki?"

Jim nodded, and then yelled out for Adam once again.

"I don't understand why she'd do that…she don't even know how to swim. Did you know that?"

"Yeah, I know. We found that out after we got Jimmy out and she was still down in the storm drain somewhere, but at that point, we weren't sure exactly where since the water was rushing too fast."

"She actually went into the storm drain full of water?" Again, Bob had a questioning disbelief that laced his words, but he was starting to see his sister-in-law in a slightly different light.

"Uhm, yeah…she knew that if she didn't, my son wouldn't stand a chance. The water in the drain was rising fast and rushing towards the spill out about a mile from our house. Jimmy had managed to catch hold on something and hanging on until he couldn't hang on anymore. She was trying to get to him before he let go."

"She risked her life, is that what your telling me?" Bob was now in awe, hanging on to a renewed hope of finding his son safe and sound.

"Yeah…she risked her life…for my son, a little boy that she had only met once, a few days prior." Jim paused to let the words sink in to Bob's mind. "And right now, she's out there looking for Adam, her own nephew. You can bet that as long as there's breath in her body, she's not gonna stop looking until he's found…safe and sound."

Bob was quietly digesting this information as they continued on down the trail. Jim yelled out for Adam every few feet. He noticed how quiet Bob had gotten, but chalked it up to the worry that he must be feeling.

Finally, Bob broke his silence. "Jim, I think I have sorely underestimated my sister-in-law. I don't think I have been fair in the way I've treated Mikki and her career all of these years."

"Yeah, well Bob, I'm sorry that's it taken something like this for you to realize that she's a pretty special lady, but don't worry, after we find Adam and her, you'll have plenty of time to make amends."

Bob smiled slightly in the darkness, and with sincerity in his voice, "Yeah, Jim, you're right…and that's just what I'm gonna do, too."

Jim smiled to himself, as well. He could detect something in Bob's voice that told him that the man was sincere with his words concerning his sister-in-law. Jim just hoped that they would find Adam and Mikki, safe and sound, and soon, as the temperatures were dropping even farther in the night air.


	5. Chapter 5

From Bunny Hills to Bootleggers

Chapter 5

© June 2010

Billy walked as fast as he could in the surrounding blackness of the woods. He kept his flashlight trained on the ground, not wanting to stumble. His main focus was to get to the still before Pete could get to it. He wasn't about to let anyone jeopardize the profitable and illegal operation that he and his two buddies from the Sanchez ranch had going.

Nearing the edge of the clearing where the creek lay just beyond, Billy could hear the generator going, and the banging and clanging of the still as it produced it's liquid fire. He could also hear the voices of his two friends. Drawing closer, he called out to them. "Hey, Lance, Frank…it's me, Billy."

"Yeah Billy, we're here…and we got company." Lance called out in an annoyed voice.

Billy stepped into the clearing and walked over to his counterparts. He looked down and saw Mikki sitting on the ground, cradling Adam, as he slept, in her lap.

"Son-of-bitch!" He exclaimed as he walked over closer to the two. The look on his face was pure fury and rage as he glared at Mikki. He said nothing to her, but turned and directed his words to Lance. "What in the hell is _she _doing here?" His tone was demanding and there was no mistaken that he wasn't one bit happy in finding that Mikki had stumbled on the operation.

Lance was just about to speak when Mikki beat him to it. "I'll tell you what I'm doing here, ass-wipe. I'm out here because Adam was lost; as you can see, I found him, and in case you were wondering, jerk wad, he's fine." Mikki was seething because Billy didn't seem the least bit interested that their nephew was safe and okay.

"Like I really care?" Billy continued as he glared at Mikki. "The kid shouldn't have run off to begin with."

"You heartless bastard!" Mikki hissed between clenched teeth, earning her a hard backhand across the right side of her face. The impact was enough to stun her into silence and she forced herself to hold back the tears of pain that threatened to spill forth.

"Both of you just shut the hell up!" Roared Lance, as he stepped forward and grabbed Billy's hand in mid-air before he could bring it sweeping back across the other side of Mikki's face. He was met with silence from the bickering duo.

Motioning towards Mikki and Adam, Lance continued, "I gotta figure out what we're gonna do with this little buttinsky and the kid, and I can't concentrate on figuring that out if you're busy beatin' the hell out of her." The last part of the sentence had been directed towards Billy.

"What d'ya mean, Lance?" Frank jumped in and asked. "What _can_ we do, man? She's the law and he's just a kid. You can't just 'off' either on of them."

"I never said anything about 'offing' either one of them." He contemplated briefly. "We'll let the kid go, but I haven't figured out what to do with her yet."

Mikki didn't like the look that he had in his eyes and she knew she was in big trouble. As she digested his words, she was thinking, _Oh boy…I gotta figure out how to get out of this mess. _

Choosing that moment to deliver more information, Billy spoke up, "Well, while you're figuring out what to do with her, you'd better figure out what to do with her two city-boy cop friends. They're out here searching too, and so's the old man and a bunch of the ranch hands from the Circle ABC.

Mikki's breath caught at that bit of information. She didn't want Pete or Jim, or anyone else, for that matter, to walk in on the situation unexpectedly, yet she had no way to warn them.

Frank became anxious, "Cop friends? You mean there are cops out here lookin' for the kid, too? What we gonna do Lance? I don't wanna go to jail."

"Shut up, Frank. Nobody's going to jail. I'll figure something out." Just then, off in the distant, a voice could be heard, calling for Adam and Mikki.

"That's the one I was paired up with, now; her _boyfriend_. " Billy voiced, casting another angry glance in Mikki's direction.

Lance pulled out his gun and pointed at Mikki, "One word out of you and your nephew's gonna have nightmares of seeing your brains being blown out, for the rest of his life. Got it?"

Mikki swallowed hard and nodded, thankful that Adam was asleep in her arms; this wasn't a discussion that he needed to have etched in his memory.

"Good! Now," he directed towards Billy and Frank, "you two, when you know that he's coming through the woods, charge him and make him think he's been hit by a rocket. Don't kill him, though...we don't need no dead cops," he glanced at Mikki, "yet, anyway."

"Hey Lance, how we gonna know when he gets here?" Frank wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch and his lack of intelligence was shining through.

"When he steps out and yells 'surprise.' Came Lance's sarcastic reply followed by Billy's snicker. "You idiot, in the quietness of the night, you'll hear him way before you see him, but just to be on the safe side, you follow Billy's lead, got it?"

"Yeah, okay." Frank looked like a child that had just been reprimanded for snitching a cookie before dinner.

_Hmmm, the way good 'ole Lance is degrading Billy could be plus in the long run. I can use that to try and pull the two of them apart and cause bickering amongst the ranks. _Mikki's mind was pumping like a well-oiled piston as she tried to formulate a plan.

* * *

Pete had just come out of the last wooded path area and was back on the main trail. When he'd parted ways with Billy, he figured that the irresponsible little punk wasn't about to check the remaining paths that he was supposed to, so Pete quickly took on the task of checking both the paths to the right and the left. He'd gone as fast as he safely could, but with the need to do a thorough search for the missing child it was a slow and tedious process. Though it didn't surprise him in the least that he hadn't encountered Billy anywhere along the way, that little tid-bit did have him a little worried. He knew the man was up to something and he didn't relish the idea of being on the receiving end of any unexpected surprises.

Continuing on the main trail, towards the area where it would spill out into the open area with the creek, Pete continued to holler for Adam and Mikki, pausing briefly every thirty seconds or so in order to be able to hear if anyone would answer. It was during one of these paused moments that he heard a distinct noise of a motor of some sort, along with banging and clanging. _Wonder what that noise is?_ Pete thought, as he slowly walked on, though no longer yelling out, as gut instinct was telling him to keep quiet and keep the flashlight trained low and close to his body, providing only enough light to see each step by. He couldn't ignore the prickly, raised-hair feeling on the back of his neck.

* * *

_On the left-hand trail…_

Bob and Jim were alternating turns with yelling as they walked the main trail. They had covered all of the paths running off on either side of the trail, so it was a straight shot from where they were to the creek. Jim heard Bob let out a big sigh in the blackness of the night and chalked it up to worry.

"How much further to the creek, do you suppose?" Jim asked.

"Oh, uhm, I don't know, not too much farther…" Bob's voice trailed off and he became very quiet.

Again, figuring it to be worry, Jim spoke to Bob, "Try not to worry, Bob; someone's gonna find him."

"It's not just that, Jim."

"Look, if you're still worried about making amends with Mikki, I don't think you need to worry about it. She's a pretty reasonable person and when she realizes that you're sincere, she'll…"

"No, it's not that either." Bob cut him off.

"Then what is it?" Jim couldn't think of anything else that it could be, at that point.

"Mikki might be in trouble if she's made it to the creek." Bob's words were quiet, and laced with uncertainty regarding how Jim might react. He slowed his pace and hung back, just slightly.

Jim slowed his pace, allowing Bob to catch up with him, "What do you mean, Mikki might be in trouble if she's made it to the creek? I don't think she'd go wading into the creek, in the dark, unless of course she sees Adam in the water. Then I _know _she'd go in, dark or not."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

Jim was beginning to get the inkling that he wasn't going to like where this conversation was going. "Bob, spill it. If it has nothing to do with water and Mikki not knowing how to swim, then what is it? What's going on?"

"It's…" Bob hesitated.

"It's what, Bob?" Jim was more insistent as he stopped, reaching out to stop Bob as well.

Bob turned and looked at Jim, "Billy and two of the hands from the Sanchez ranch have a still up by the creek."

"A still? Like a moonshine still?" Jim thought that moonshine brewing was something that only took place in the movies.

"Yeah, a moonshine still."

"Those are illegal, Bob." Jim said the first thing that popped into his mind at the moment, as he stood there waiting for Bob to continue.

"Yeah, Jim, I get that, but never the less, they have a still rigged up out there, and I know that they ain't gonna take kindly to an FBI agent stumbling on it…or a couple of city cops, for that matter. I don't think Billy would hurt Mikki, but his cohorts, might."

Jim's mind was whirling. He knew there wasn't going to be an easy way around this one. If Mikki stumbled on those guys and their illegal brew, Billy there or not, there was bound to be trouble for her. Frowning, Jim went on to think of the repercussions of Pete stumbling on the bootleggers…especially if Billy _were_ there when Pete came across them. Jim wasn't blind, and back at the house he saw the hatred that Billy harbored for Pete. A new worry washed over Jim; and that worry was for Pete's safety.

"We have to get to the creek before Mikki and Pete do. If Billy's partners are there, then Pete and Mikki are going to be in over their heads. We have to think of a plan, but first, I have to know if you are involved in this in any way...and you'd better come clean and tell me if you are, Bob." The inflection in Jim's voice left no doubt in Bobs' mind that he wasn't playing; Jim meant business.

"No, Jim...I'm not involved in any way, other than knowing what's going on. I tried to tell Billy that it was wrong, but he's just a kid and won't listen to nothin' I tell him."

"He's not a kid, Bob...he's an adult and he knows right from wrong, but we don't have time to get into that right now. Right now my main focus is finding your son, and keeping my friends out of harms way, and you're gonna help me do that! Now let's go." Jim finished and started off again, Bob keeping a close step behind him.

* * *

Pete continued to walk quietly, doing his best not to make any noise. He had turned the flashlight off and stuck it in his jacket pocket. As he approached the edge of the woods, he could see through the trees enough to make out several subjects standing in the fire light. He could also see Mikki sitting on the ground with Adam in her lap. Relief at finding them safe quickly turned to dread as he saw one of the men with a gun trained on Mikki.

In one fluid and routine motion, Pete reached down and up under his coat, feeling for his off-duty weapon…and realizing too late that he didn't have it on him. When Janey had come barreling in with the news that Adam was missing, all thoughts were on finding the child. Thinking back, Pete remembered Ben saying to shoot off a couple of shots if anyone found the child, and he cursed himself for not going to the bedroom and retrieving the weapon from where he'd buried it in his suitcase before sitting down to dinner.

_Great! Now what am I gonna do?_ Pete pondered as he watched the subjects through the trees, but when he moved a little closer, trying to get a better view, the decision was taken out of his hands when his movement caused a twig to snap under his foot. In the quietness of the night, it sounded more like a tree branch breaking off than it did a small twig cracking. Within seconds, Billy and Frank came crashing into the woods and straight into Pete, knocking him backwards with such a force that the air was knocked out of him when he went down.


	6. Chapter 6

From Bunny Hills to Bootleggers

Chapter 6

© June 2010

Pete struggled to catch his breath as he fought to escape his attackers. The more he turned and pulled, the more entangled he became. He was sure that he'd been bowled over by at least two people…or an octopus, since there seemed to be hands everywhere, holding him down and punching him in the face and the gut all at the same time.

Feeling the weight of at least one attacker lighten off of him, Pete thought, _This my opening._ Rallying to gain purchase and push himself upwards to throw off the other attacker, Pete felt the point of a boot toe as it met with his left ribs in a volley of quick and sharp kicks, causing him to let a strangled gasp and fall backwards once again. Instinctively rolling on to his side and wrapping his arms around his midsection to protect his injured ribs, he was awarded two more swift kicks, this time, to the lower back. The impact and the pain were too severe for Pete to continue the fight as he struggled against the dizziness and lightheadedness brought on by the painful assault. Pete lay still, not daring to move without the threat of unconsciousness overtaking him, and as welcome as it would have been, he figured he stood a better chance of survival if he were conscious. His shallow breaths were coming in rapid heaves.

"I think he's dying, Billy!" Frank uttered frantically into the darkness. "You hear the way he's breathing?"

"He ain't dying you idiot, he's just probably wishing he were, though…or at least he will wish it, when I'm finished with him." Billy reached down and grabbed Pete by the arm, unmercifully yanking him to a semi sitting position. Pete fought the desire to heave the contents of his last meal as the pain radiated through his back and mid-section.

"Get on the other side of him and help me take him back into the clearing." Billy demanded of Frank.

The two of them, one on either side, managed to get Pete into a standing position. As he staggered between the two of them, they practically drug him through the trees and out into the open.

Mikki saw Pete's ashen face and knew immediately that he was hurting pretty badly. The rage coursing through her when she saw what they had done made her want nothing more than to kill Billy and his buddies in that instant. "Oh my God, Pete." She whispered, as her voice caught in her throat and she blinked back tears of anger over what Billy and Frank had done to Pete.

Billy, who had been watching her reaction as they came into the clearing, stopped short and told Frank to take both of Pete's arms and put them behind his back. Frank did as he was told, standing behind Pete and forcing him into a straight-standing position. Billy took up stance in front of Pete and delivered a series of blows to his mid-section, and well as his face.

"STOP IT!" Mikki yelled, as she watched Pete taking pummel after pummel. "FOR GOD'S SAKE BILLY, PLEASE STOP IT!" Mikki's voice was pleading.

"That's enough, Billy." Lance chimed in, though the smirk on his face indicated that he didn't really care if Billy stopped or not. As though he hadn't heard, Billy continued his assault, taking great pleasure in seeing Pete's bloodied face and barely conscious form sagging in front of him.

"Please Billy! For the love of God, please stop it!" Mikki stopped trying to stifle the tears and her voice came out in a pleading sob.

Billy showed no intentions of stopping until finally, Pete's body went totally limp, causing Frank to stumble backwards under the pressure of his full, unsupported weight. Billy reached out, grabbed Pete under the left arm and jerked him over towards Mikki. "Here you go, _babe_, here's your big, tough boyfriend now…only he ain't so big and tough no more, is he?" Billy's voice was laced with hatred as he pushed Pete into the dirt next to Mikki.

Adam was still in Mikki's lap and she couldn't react quick enough to try to reach out and break Pete's fall as his unconscious body landed with a thud next to her. She gently placed Adam on the ground on the other side of her, and told him to sit still for a minute. The small child had watched with horror filled eyes, as his uncle showed no mercy on the man that he had hurled into the dirt next to his aunt, so he just sat there with quiet tears streaming down his face.

Mikki turned her attentions towards Pete, who lay there next to her, as still as death. She had a feeling of dread in her heart as she tried to assess Pete's injuries. His bottom lip was split, along with a cut running the width of the bottom of his chin; his nose didn't appear to be broken, but there was blood flowing freely from it. Mikki could see that Pete's left cheek was quickly forming a bruise and that there was tremendous amount of swelling surrounding it. She couldn't make out how badly he was injured on the inside, but from the beating that he took, she didn't doubt that there were internal injuries of some sort. Mikki knew that she had to try to get Pete back into semi-consciousness, at least. "Pete…c'mon, honey, open your eyes. You gotta wake up, Pete."

Gently, Mikki reached out, and stroked his cheek, "Pete…" She pleaded breathlessly, "Oh Pete…open your eyes, please. Stay with me, Pete." When her efforts earned only a low moan, Mikki gently rubbed his shoulder, hoping to rouse him more. "C'mon, Pete…open your eyes…you gotta stay with me." Mikki continued to plead.

Billy stood over Mikki in a menacing way, watching as she tenderly touched and rubbed Pete's shoulder. He saw red. Reaching down to grab Mikki's arm, "Get up, bitch…we're gonna go have us a little fun. I've been wantin' you for a long time and I intend to have you…I'll make you forget all bout 'ole Pete, here."

"Go to hell, Billy." Mikki spat at Billy as she jerked her arm away from him, only infuriating him further.

Billy reached into the back of his waistband and pulled out a pistol. Pointing it at Mikki, he said, "I…said…GET UP!" With his free hand, Billy reached down and grabbed Mikki by the arm once again, this time jerking her into a standing position. Mikki let out a yelp and collapsed after one step when Billy started to pull her forward, not realizing that she was unable to put any weight on the left ankle.

Billy became enraged when Mikki fell down. He had one thing on his mind and he wasn't about to let Mikki's injury stave off his desire to satisfy his appetite. Quickly he tucked the gun into the front of his waistband and then he bent down, grabbed her and forced her into a semi standing position. He then picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, then continued on into the woods, just inside the clearing. Mikki was beating his back, kicking with her right leg and cursing a blue streak as they went. When she realized how futile her efforts were, she changed tactics. "Don't do this, Billy; please don't do this." Mikki hated it that she was all but begging the animal to leave her alone.

"Shut up."

"Billy, please…"

"I said, SHUT UP!" Billy had found his spot of preference and tossed Mikki down on the cold, hard ground, with a thud. The pain in her left ankle shot up her leg, causing that feeling of impeding nausea as once again, tears sprang to her eyes.

"You let that city boy cop touch you like I'm gonna do? Or maybe you let him do other things to you; things way more vile than I have planned…or maybe not." Billy bent down and was staring at Mikki, seething over the fact that he knew Mikki willingly gave to Pete the very thing that he had coveted from her since the first time they met back when Janey and Bob were dating.

Mikki knew she was in a pickle and she didn't have a clue how she was going to get out of it. Gulping in several breaths of air, she tried to calm herself but couldn't seem to quell the fear that so close to the surface. Suddenly, from behind Billy, she caught a shadowy glimpse in the pale moonlight. She couldn't be sure who it was, but she was praying that it was someone coming to the rescue.

Billy reached out and roughly grabbed a handful of Mikki's coat. Using both hands, he yanked at both sides of the jacket, splitting the zipper straight down. Mikki began to flail her arms and scream, trying to get him to stop. The ruckus only seemed to entice Billy further and he said, "You like it rough, don't ya? Is that how your boyfriend gives it to you; rough? I'm more of a man that he is any day of the week so I'll show you just how it's done and I'll leave you beggin' for more." Billy continued to paw at Mikki as she continued to swear at him and swat at his hands. Billy tossed his head back and laughed, knowing that Mikki was defenseless against him. Or so he thought.

Straining against the darkness as she fought, Mikki could make out two figures advancing towards Billy's turned back, yet they weren't close enough to clearly see in the darkness. Not knowing for sure if it was help coming her way, her stomach clenched at the possibility that Billy had more friends out here and that they were coming to take their turn at her too. She let out blood curdling scream. Billy's hand shot out and wickedly backhanded her, stunning her so completely that it took her a few seconds to gather her senses.

Standing up, Billy removed his gun and pointed it at Mikki once again. "Now, you're gonna let me have what I want and if you're really nice to me, I'll even let you live. I'm gonna kill your boyfriend, though…but I'll let you live." Billy let out a perverted little chuckle as he used his free hand to unfasten the buckle on his belt, as well as to undo his snap and zipper before dropping to quickly poise himself over Mikki as he reached for her waistband. When he reached, so did she, clamping down in a vice-like grip and squeezing for all she was worth as she brutally twisted Billy's family jewels every which way she could. Billy howled and jerked backwards just a pair of hands reached out and jerked him upwards after knocking the gun from his hands, and into the darkness of the night. The next ten seconds were a blur as Billy fought to whirl around far enough to see his attacker; it was none other than his own brother, Bob.

No words were exchanged as Bob spun Billy around to face him and in the same instant he landed a hard right hook to Billy's jaw, rendering him unconscious.

Still not realizing that help had arrived, Mikki screamed again as a pair of hands reached out and grabbed both of her arms. She continued to scream and struggle against the new attackers.

"Mikki! Stop struggling!" The voice was familiar, but through her fear, Mikki couldn't focus on who it was. "Mikki, stop! It's Jim; stop struggling, it's okay." Jim gave her a brief shake and when that didn't work he muttered something unintelligible and did the only thing he knew to do when hysterics were overtaking someone, he slapped her; not real hard, but hard enough to snap her out of her paralyzing fear.

Mikki gasped as she focused on the face two feet from hers; the face was talking to her, "Mikki, settle down, it's me; Jim" Jim searched her eyes for any signs of recognition.

"Jim?" came her quiet utter, followed by a strangled sob as she launched herself into his arms and began to babble, "Oh God, Jim, its Pete…he's hurt really bad, Jim; really bad. We gotta get him some help!"

"Shhh…just calm down and tell me what happened and where Pete is." Jim sounded much calmer than what he felt, especially after learning that Pete was hurt.

Taking a deep breath, Mikki launched into an explanation of what had transpired, giving details on where the others were. She told them that Adam was safe but scared, and that Lance had a gun but that she didn't know about Frank. She looked at her brother-in-law and watched as he removed Billy's belt from his pants and used it to bind Billy's wrists together behind his back. Though not close enough to gauge Bob's expression in the darkness, Mikki had a feeling that the dynamics in the relationship between her and Bob had shifted in that instant.

Bob finished the task at hand and then pulled out a hankie from his pocket and shoved it in Billy's mouth in order to keep him from hollering out a warning when he regained consciousness. That done, he turned towards Jim, "What do you think we should do, Jim?"

"I don't know yet Bob, but we've gotta figure something out…and fast." Jim was clearly worried about Pete's wellbeing.


	7. Chapter 7

From Bunny Hills to Bootleggers

Chapter 7

© June 2010

Moaning, Pete was slowly regaining consciousness. In the distance he could hear screaming and cursing; through the fogginess in his brain, he could've sworn that it sounded like Mikki but that couldn't be, could it? His mind wasn't quite focused enough to realize that indeed, it was her. The last thing he saw before the blackness had engulfed him was Mikki sitting on the ground and holding Adam on her lap. Slowly, Pete opened his eyes, trying to focus as he did so. He saw Adam sitting a couple of feet from him, staring wide-eyed and scared. Trying hard not to do anything that would further the child's fright, Pete's subconscious mind demanded that he try to comfort the child with a slight smile, though he knew it would likely not have the comforting effect that he hoped.

Adam sat, watching the badly hurt man. The man smiled slightly, his face barely registering the smile, yet something in his eyes told Adam that he didn't need to fear this man; after all, this was the man that was at his grandparents house with his aunt. Adam stuck his thumb in his mouth and slowly scooted over towards Pete.

Taking in a couple of ragged breaths, Pete tried to roll over and sit up. The pain waved over him, causing him to momentarily freeze his efforts.

"Hey!" Frank suddenly yelled towards Pete, "What the hell you doing?" He had walked over and was staring down at where Pete lay, now on side and struggling once again to sit up.

"I'm…trying to…sit up; can't…can't catch…catch my breath…laying down." Came Pete's raspy reply. As he tried to sit up, he was straining to take in his surroundings; much to his dismay, Mikki was nowhere to be seen. Next to Pete, Adam had started rocking back and forth, making soft crying sounds as he sucked his thumb. Pete couldn't bear to let the young boy continue to see him so helpless; it was far too traumatizing for the child. Once again sucking in some much-needed air, Pete gritted his teeth, braced his hand on the ground and pushed himself into a sitting position, immediately folding his arms protectively around his mid-section to cradle his injured ribs.

Lance walked over to Pete and gave him an evil look. "That had better be _all _that you are planning on!" As if to prove a point, Lance had drawn his gun and pointed it at Pete.

"That's _all _I intend to do; I'm not stupid. If you think I am going to do anything that's going to put this child further into harms way, you can think again." Though the pain was still excruciating, sitting up did seem to help with the breathing.

Knowing that his face must look like a scary, bloody mess to the little boy, Pete used the sleeve of his coat to wipe away what blood that he could before casting a quick glance at the child. Huge, scared eyes stared back at him and Pete was able to manage more of smile this time. His reward came when Adam scrambled to crawl into his lap and bury his face in Pete's chest, jostling him and causing the pain to radiate through his mid-section as he did so. Pete clenched his jaws and stifled a moan so he wouldn't startle the boy; he knew that the child was clearly frightened, just by the fact that he was seeking out comfort from a virtual stranger. He slowly encircled the child loosely with his arms, the pain from his injuries causing him to have to swallow back a nauseous feeling. "It's okay, Adam. You're okay. Just sit still, okay?"

Pete felt the slight nod of Adam's head against his chest. Off in the distance, Pete could still hear Mikki yelling and screaming. "What's going on out there?" Pete demanded, looking up at Lance.

Lance snickered, "Oh, Billy's just sowing some wild oats…with your girlfriend." Pete was just about to speak again, when an ear-splitting scream sounded from the woods, followed by the howl of male voice, and then another wild scream from Mikki. Lance continued, "And from the sounds of things, he's enjoying himself thoroughly…but it doesn't sound like she's as on board with the idea as he is." Lance let out another sickening snicker and walked away, tossing over his shoulder, "Don't get no smart ideas about helping her; I'd just as soon shoot you…and the kid, if need be…as look at you. Pete knew he couldn't put Adam in harms way. He closed his eyes tightly, willing himself to be strong, yet silently willing Mikki to be stronger. God help him, he wanted to kill Billy for what he was putting Mikki through.

When the noise from the woods stopped, Pete had a moment of dread and panic rise in him. His heart ripped in two as he quietly cried out, _'Oh God, No Mikki…NOOOOO!'_

* * *

"Jim, how are we gonna get to Adam and Pete?" Mikki had only re-phrased her earlier question and Jim still had no answer for her. Bob surprised her, however, with a plausible plan.

"You know, I can walk right in there and they wouldn't think anything of it, probably; especially if I am hollering for my son. They'll just think that I am out searching for Adam."

"We can't let you do that, Bob." Jim interrupted. "If they're already holding Pete against his will, they don't have any reason not to keep you too. They have to know that they're in deep with this, so they aren't about to cut you any slack, especially when Billy don't come back."

"He's right, Bob." Mikki agreed, though she would have liked to get someone in there, even Bob, just to make sure that Adam and Pete were safe.

"You guys gotta let me try. My son's in there and he's gotta be frightened out of his mind." He turned pleading eyes to Mikki. "And Pete's in there…hurt; you said so yourself that he's hurt bad. C'mon you guys, please let me do this."

"No, Bob…we can't let you do it. When Billy don't come back, they are gonna know something is up." Jim held firm in his decision.

"Jim, wait…" Mikki was formulating a plan. "What if Bob goes in and makes like he ran across Billy out here in the woods. He can act like he caught Billy doing unspeakable things to me and that all he wants to do is get his son back home safely."

"Yeah, Jim, I will tell them that I ran in to Billy and he told me to come and get Adam. I can get him out of there and to safety and then we can make a plan to get Pete out." Bob looked hopeful.

"I don't know…I just don't know." Jim uttered.

"Jim, we don't really have too many other choices at the moment." Mikki pointed out. "Pete's not in any condition to fight those other two guys, and with Adam in there, you can't very well march in there and demand that they give themselves up. At least with Adam safely away, it will be easier to try and overtake the other two."

"What if they don't let Bob and Adam go, though?" Jim questioned.

"Then at least I'll be on the inside, with my boy, and I can keep him safe." Bob answered.

Jim looked from one to the other and then shook his head and sighed. He knew he was outnumbered and he didn't have a plan that sounded any better at the moment. "Alright, we'll try it, but first we lay down some ground rules, Bob."

"Anything you say, Jim." Bob readily agreed.

"Here's what we're gonna do; Bob, you go in there, like Mikki said, and act like you already came across Billy and Mikki out here in the woods. Tell one those goons that Billy could use a little help out here…say that Mikki is giving him one helluva fight." Jim then turned to Mikki and said, "You start kickin' up a loud, screaming fuss so Billy's reinforcement will go running to help him." Swinging his gaze back to Bob, "Then you get your boy out of there, or as far away from the other guy as possible, 'cause I'll be close behind and ready to take him off guard…I hope."

"Jim, do you have a gun?" Mikki asked, having not seen one when Jim and Bob rescued her from Billy's pawing hands.

"No…mine's at the house."

"Oh. I don't have mine either." Came Mikki's reply.

"Billy had one in his hand when I jerked him up; I knocked it out of his hand…it's gotta be close by." Bob said.

Jim and Bob both turned on their flashlights, careful to keep them pointed towards the ground as they scanned the area for the discarded weapon. A few minutes later, "Got it." Jim uttered as he bent to retrieve the piece, checking to make sure it was indeed loaded and ready to go before slipping it into his waistband. He then turned towards Mikki and then nodded towards Billy, "You'll be okay out here…alone with him?"

Mikki snickered, "Maybe you should be more worried about him than me…I'm not the one that's tied up and gagged…but I am the one with an axe to grind."

Jim shook his head and smiled slightly, "Just don't hurt him too badly, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…I'll behave myself…won't leave too many marks." Mikki begrudgingly promised.

"You seriously gonna whip on an unarmed man that's tied up and can't defend himself?" Bob questioned with surprise in his voice. He wasn't happy about his brother's wrong doings, but he still felt and obligation as his younger brother's keeper.

"He basically did no less than that to Pete; not to mention what he had planned for me, so can you give me one good reason _why _I should cut the little asshole any slack, Bob?" Mikki's voice held a certain amount of annoyance.

Bob swallowed hard, not sure he really even had an answer for Mikki, and muttered, "Sorry."

"Forget it, Bob. By the way, thanks for helping out with this." Mikki was throwing a bone; she knew this probably wasn't easy for Bob; after all, he'd been Billy's primary caregiver since their mother had passed away when Billy was thirteen and Bob was just barely finished with high school, himself.

Jim cleared his throat, breaking the awkwardness of the moment, "I hate to be a party pooper, but we gotta get this show on the road. Mikki, start kicking up your fuss, Bob, get movin' toward the creek. I'm gonna give a few yells myself, and hope I sound enough like Billy to pass off as him against Mikki's screams and then I'll be making tracks right behind ya." Mikki and Bob both nodded. "Good," said Jim, "let's roll."

Setting the plan in motion, Bob started through the woods toward the clearing, as Mikki began screaming and yelling, while Jim interjected a few well placed yells of his own before heading off after Bob. Behind them, Mikki was doing a very convincing job of screaming and crying out in anguish against her non-existent attacker.

* * *

Lance let out hearty laugh, "Sounds like Billy's got a live one out there. Thought maybe he'd killed her when she stopped screaming a bit ago…guess she was just getting' her second wind. Bet you'd like nothin' more than to run to her rescue, wouldn't ya?" Lance snickered towards Pete. "Well don't go getting no ideas or I'll plug the kid, got it?" As if to prove his point, he touched the handle of his gun as he glared at Pete. He then began to laugh with more vigor as he sauntered over and looked down at Pete's horrified stricken expression, "Woo-hoo, ya hear that? She sure is screechin' like a stuck pig! Get it? A stuck pig…that's funny, huh? You think that's funny don't ya city boy?" Lance's booted foot shot out and connected with Pete's thigh.

With Adam in his lap, there wasn't much Pete could do in way of retaliation as Pete glared at the man. The icy look from Pete should have been enough to make the man cringe but instead, he kicked Pete one more time and turned toward the still to check the gauges.

In the distance, Mikki's screams could be heard once more, along with a few yells from Billy. Pete felt that his heart and his gut were both caught in his throat and he knew that he was helpless to help Mikki. It was almost more than he could stand, so he tightened his arms around the frightened child on his lap, covering Adam's ears as best that he could as he tried his best to block the anguished screams from his own ears, as well.

* * *

_"ADAM! ADAM!" _Bob yelled, walking through the woods and getting closer to the clearing. About ten-foot from the clearing, he paused to take a deep breath and calm his nerves before continuing into the opening. _"ADAM!" _He gave one last yell before coming out of the woods and into the opening, face to face with the muzzle of Lance's gun.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, barging in here like this?" Lance demanded as he lowered the gun.

"I came looking for my son; 'bout gave up hope of finding him 'til I came across Billy and Mikki out there. Billy told me to come on in and get Adam." Bob then cast a glance at Pete and his son, before swinging his eyes over to Frank, "Billy said to tell you that he could use some help out there. Seems Mikki's a little hellcat and he's having a hard time holding her down while he…well, you know, while he 'has his way'. You go help him and he'll probably let you take a turn, too."

Pete closed his eyes and groaned. He had to swallow back the bile that was threatening to rise as listened to Bob's rendition of what was happening just a few hundred feet away in the woods. He was so close, yet so far away from being able to help Mikki. Had it not been for the little boy on his lap, Pete would have gladly risked taking a bullet...or a whole barrel full of them for that matter, if he could only go to Mikki's aid.

Frank cast an anxious look towards Lance, as if asking permission to go to Billy's aid. "Go!" Lance motioned.

Frank took off into the woods. He had made it about a hundred foot when out of nowhere a fist connected hard with his jaw, causing him to see stars despite the density of the trees overhead. Another quick hook to the jaw sent him spiraling unconscious to the ground. Jim quickly removed his belt and bound his hands tightly together behind his back. He then reached in to Frank's pocket, retrieved his hanky and shoved in to Frank's mouth just as Bob had done to Billy. Jim then continued towards the clearing, taking Billy's gun from his waistband as he did so. He knew that he would only get one good chance at freeing Pete without putting him, Adam, or Bob in harm's way.


	8. Chapter 8

From Bunny Hills to Bootleggers

Chapter 8

© June 2010

"I'm gonna get my boy and get him the hell out of here. He don't need to be seeing or hearing any more of this than he already has." Bob pushed passed Lance and started over towards Pete and Adam.

Pete was watching and listening to the exchange. He now knew why he didn't like Mikki's brother-in-law from the start. The man was as dirty as his brother, Billy was.

Spotting Bob, Adam began to squirm from Pete's embrace, ready to bolt over to the protective arms of his dad. Reluctantly, Pete let him go, figuring that Bob would protect his own son; after all, he supposed that the man had to have at least one redeeming quality, even if he was affiliated with these bootleggers.

"Hey buddy." Bob bent to pick up his son and hug him close. "What d'ya say we get you back to grandma and grandpa's house, huh? Mommy's worried about you."

Adam shook his head vigorously, ready to get out of the woods and away from the scary man with the gun.

Lance, who had been bent down and checking the gauges on the still, suddenly stood up, "Woe, woe, woe…sorry Bob…I can't let you leave." As he spoke, he fingered the butt of the gun sticking from his waistband.

"What the hell d'ya mean, you can't let me leave?" Bob angrily demanded as he took a couple of steps towards the path leading into the woods. He stopped when Lance stood up and pulled out his gun.

"Just what I said…you can't leave."

"Look", Bob turned pleading eyes on Lance "I just wanna get my kid to safety."

"You know too much." Lance casually supplied.

"I don't know nothin' and if anyone asks, that's exactly what I'll tell 'em. Please, let me get my boy outta here. He don't need to be part of this."

"Then the kid knows too much. Besides, if there's a bunch of people out lookin' for the kid, then the sheriff's people are bound to be out here lookin' too. I can't risk being caught without collateral. After all, the city boy here is expendable; it's his job to put his life on the line."

"Good God, you can't be serious! Adam's only four years old…and he's frightened out of his mind; he ain't no threat to you! No threat at all."

"That ain't my problem that he's only four. I can't have…"

"Let 'em go!" Pete demanded from where he sat on the ground.

"What?" Lance spun around and turned his attentions to Pete. "You got something to put in this conversation, city boy?"

"You've got me; you don't need Bob and the boy as collateral. Let 'em go."

"Like I said," Lance re-iterated, "you don't do me much good…it's your job to be put in harms way. A little boy makes a much better hostage."

"You sonofabitch!" Bob spat as he spun on his heel and took off running towards the woods, holding Adam tightly as he did so.

Lance whirled around, his back to Pete, and brought his gun up, firing three shots in Bob's direction.

Pete saw his opening and knew he had to do something when Lance brought the gun up and began to fire. Painfully aware of his injured ribs, Pete managed to get to his feet and was rushing towards Lance's back as he fired the gun.

Bob heard the first bullet whiz by his head and then a split second later, the second bullet grazed the back of his right upper thigh, causing him to pitch forward towards the ground, as the third bullet failed to find any visual mark.

Struggling to let go of Adam as he fell, Bob yelled "Run, Adam…RUN!"

As if frozen in place, Adam stood, unable to move away from his fallen father. The child's eyes were huge with fright and he wet his pants.

Jim, off to the side, dodging the stray bullet by just inches, reached out and grabbed Adam, pulling him into the safety of the surrounding foliage.

Just after the third shot, Pete's body slammed into Lance, which sent both men spiraling off-balance and into the dirt.

Lance still had a grip on his gun and was trying to point it at Pete. Pete quickly knocked the gun away from him, just as Lance flipped Pete over put his hands around Pete's neck and began to squeeze; Pete brought both hands up to the sides of Lance's head, boxing his ears as hard as he could. It was enough to make Lance loosen his grip and allow Pete to flip him over and deliver two fast and quick, face smashing blows, rendering Lance helpless.

Jim heard Bob let out a moan, "Stay here Adam…I'm gonna help your daddy." And with that, Jim burst through the opening. Torn between helping the injured man and helping his struggling partner, Jim's decision was made quickly for him when he saw that Pete had already gained the upper hand with his opponent.

Jim dropped to his knees, quickly assessing Bob's injuries, "Bob…just hold still, man; we're gonna get you some help." He then yelled towards Pete, "Pete, you okay, partner?"

"Yeah, Jim. I'm good." Pete grunted from where he sat, on the ground, next to the unconscious Lance. "Is Bob…"

"No, man, he's okay, it's just flesh wound, I think. Hard to tell in the dark, though."

"Jim, when you came through the woods…did you see Mikki out there? Billy drug her in to the woods and…and he…there was a lot of screaming and…Jim, I gotta go see if she's okay." Pete had gotten up and found Lance's gun, tucking it into his waistband. He then ran his hand nervously through his hair. "I gotta find something to tie him up with and then I gotta go find Mikki." Pete's breathing was hard and harsh sounding as he moved about, looking for something to use for bounding Lance. Finally he just settled for using his belt to bind the man's hands behind his back.

"Pete, Mikki's fine. She's a ways back in the woods…with Billy…but Billy's tied up and isn't going anywhere." Jim took a few steps into the woods and picked up Adam, bringing him back out into the opening and letting him sit by Bob, who had righted himself into a semi-sitting position and held his arms out towards Adam. The frightened child quickly took refuge in his father's embrace.

"But the screaming, Jim; she was screaming…Mikki don't just scream for nothing, Jim." Pete was having a difficult time trying to sound much calmer than he felt.

"Pete, trust me, she's fine. Her ankle's hurt, but Billy didn't hurt her. We got to them just before he could. She's fine."

Jim's words registered, "We?" Pete questioned.

"Yeah, 'we'…Bob yanked Billy off of her before he could do what he had planned to do; then he knocked him out cold. He isn't part of this operation, Pete. He knew what Billy was up to, but he wasn't part of it."

"But the screams; what were the screams? I could hear her; and Billy, I could hear him yelling, too." Pete wanted to believe what Jim was telling him, but his mind wasn't cooperating.

"Staged, Pete. Well most of them were, anyway. No doubt the first few screams were real; including the one you heard come out of Billy. Mikki got a handful of soft tissue and twisted for all she was worth. That's one guy that'll be singing soprano for awhile to come." Jim chuckled.

"Ouch." Pete contributed, feeling better with the knowledge that Mikki was safe, even if she was sporting a hurt ankle.

"Yeah…I'd say; it's a wonder she didn't twist the things off with the death grip she had on 'em." Jim had walked over and was inspecting the still and the generator that was powering it.

Pete smiled, feeling a lot better about the situation with Mikki, "That's my Mikki…don't know why I was even worried." He then nodded towards the generator, "Shut that thing down and we'll get back to the house. Bob looks like he could use some tending to, and I think Adam could use being checked over too."

"Not to mention you, partner. You don't sound too good."

"Nah, I'm okay; just some bruised ribs, I'm sure."

"Or busted, with the way you're moving…and wheezing."

"Bruised…maybe cracked. Not busted." Pete insisted.

"Uhm-huh…we'll see about that." Jim muttered as he banked the fire and shut down the generator, silencing the night air of all noise besides natures' sound effects and the moan coming from Lance as he began to come to.

Jim then walked over to Lance and jerked him into standing position; Pete had gone over and extended a hand towards Bob, helping him to his feet, "Think you'll be okay to walk?" Pete asked.

"Yeah, Pete…thanks."

"Thank you, Bob…for what you did for Mikki." Pete had a bit more tolerance for Mikki's brother-in-law after hearing what he'd done for Mikki.

"Yeah; I think I have a whole new respect for my sister-in-law, that's for sure."

Pete placed a hand on Bob's shoulder, "Good…that's real good, Bob." Pete then reached out to ruffle Adam's hair. "You want me to carry him?"

"Nah, I think I can manage; besides, with those hurt ribs, you don't need the extra weight though I would appreciate it if you would just stay close though, if you will…just in case." Came Bob's pained reply as he took a tentative step.

"You bet I will." Pete then looked over at Jim, "Partner, lead us out of here."

"Let's do it." Jim replied as he grabbed Lance's arm and forced him to walk next to him through the blackness, leading the others.

The party of five traipsed off into the woods, back tracking the path that they had come, stopping to pick up Frank, Billy and Mikki along the way.

Mikki, after gently hugging Pete nearly to death once she realized that he was alive and relatively well, leaned heavily on him for support as the bedraggled group made their way back to the Sander's ranch, where Sheriff Tull and a deputy were waiting.

As they approached the house, Ben stepped out on the porch, "Well it's about time you all came back! Everyone else has been back for awhile now." He descended the steps, and hurried forward. "Well lookie there, you found the little wanderer! When we all got back and you guys were still out lookin', we finally called the sheriff, thinking that maybe all of you were lost." Ben's voice trailed off as he realized that three of the men walking towards him had their hands bound behind them, and that Mikki, Pete, and Bob all looked a little worse for the wear. Only Jim and Adam, despite having wet pants, looked as though they had come out unscathed. "What in the devil happened to all of you, and why are they tied up?" He demanded, motioning towards Billy, Lance and Frank.

Mikki spoke up, "Well Pop, seems like Billy and his little band of followers here decided to make a little money on the side by brewing up some hooch…on Circle ABC land."

"They _WHAT_!" Ben was clearly upset. "Did you say they was brewing up moonshine? And on this land, t' boot?" Ben took a few more steps, stopping short in front of the group and glaring at Billy and his cohorts. "What in the _HELL_ were you thinkin', young man? Huh? Just what in the hell were you thinkin'?" Ben had his index finger pointed and was jabbing Billy in the chest.

Bob took a slight step forward, "I'm sure he didn't mean no harm, Ben."

"Stop trying to bail him out every bit of trouble he gets into, Bob. This is serious business and he's in deep this time." Mikki piped in. "This is one situation that he's not going to weasel his way out of, so you'd just best resign yourself to dealing with that."

Hearing the voices outside, Aggie, along with Sheriff Tull, his deputy, Janey and Jean stepped outside. Janey took off running towards the bedraggled group, grabbing Adam out of Bob's arms, as the little boy cried out for his mommy.

"Oh Adam…oh my baby…mommy was so, so scared. Oh baby I love you." Janey continued to hug the child close as she attempted to check him over in the dark, not really able to see anything. "Oh baby, are you okay? You must have been so scared."

"He's fine, Janey. Mikki saw to it." Bob informed her. "He's just a little scared is all."

Janey continued to hug on her son as she took in the appearances of her husband, sister, brother-in-law, and Pete. In the dark, she was unable to see the full extent of their injuries, but when she saw the three bound men she asked, "Oh my God! What happened out there?"

Sheriff Tull, also taking in the details of everyone's appearance, spoke up before anyone could answer. "Ben, Aggie, I think we need to get this group inside and figure out just what happened out there tonight. I see we have a few people here who appear to be tied up." He then turned to his deputy, "Deputy Jones, see to it that these boys are given their rights so that we can question them, and then take 'em over to the car and get 'em loaded. I'll get the preliminaries and then I'll be out shortly and we'll take 'em in."

"Yes, Sir." The deputy acknowledged and then set about reading the three bound men their rights before leading them to awaiting sheriffs' vehicle.

The group walked up to the house and went inside. In the light of the kitchen, it was clear that mayhem had taken place in the woods that evening. Injuries appeared even worse in the light and Sheriff Tull quickly began demanding answers.

Jean gasped when she saw Pete's injured and bloodied face, as well as the intense bruise that cascaded down the right side of Mikki's face. "Oh my God, what happened?"

"Now little lady, I'm asking the questions, here." Sheriff Tull admonished, quickly earning him a dirty look from Aggie. "Sorry." He begrudgingly nodded towards Jean, who nodded her head.

Ben spoke up "Aggie, you and the girls take Adam and get him cleaned up, and then you'd better call Doc and have him meet us in town at the clinic. I think we got a few injuries here that are gonna need tendin' to." He indicated with a motion towards Mikki, Pete and Bob.

Janey still hadn't taken a real clear look at the group; she was busy making over Adam and left the kitchen, carrying the child down the hallway towards the bathroom. She barely gave her husband a second thought as she followed Aggie and Jean.

Sheriff Tull began his questioning, taking notes as he was given a brief and quick rundown of what had transpired. He then closed his notebook so as to take his leave, with the understanding that as soon as they were all checked over at the clinic, they were stop by the sheriff's office and write out formal statements. Before leaving, the sheriff turned and walked over to towards Mikki and said, "Mikki, Mikki, Mikki…" he began, "Girl, _every_ time you come home, we cross paths, in some way, shape or form. Why is that, child, hmmm? Just _why_ do you suppose that is?" The man had a glint in his eye that Pete could've sworn looked familiar, though he wasn't sure why.

Mikki smiled and gave the man a big hug and a kiss on the cheek, "Because Uncle Eddie, I am my mother's daughter, and Lord knows she's been giving you a hard time all of your life, so why shouldn't I?"

"Uncle Eddie?" Pete questioned with raised eyebrows.

Mikki's smile grew, and that same sparkling glint appeared in her eyes, "Oh yeah; didn't I mention that the sheriff is my mom's younger brother?"

Jim let out a snicker, "Now that's a classic. You said he gave you a ticket last time you came to town."

"Yes, I did!" Sheriff Ed Tull spoke up in his own defense, "That girls' got a lead foot on her; always has and probably always will. I run a law abidin' town, and relative or not, if you break the law, you're gonna pay the piper. Now, I've got other things to tend to besides standin' around here and hashin' out what I do with people that break the law." And with that, Sheriff Tull headed towards the door and went out into the night air. "Don't forget to stop by and give your statements." He shot over his shoulder before closing the door.

"Well," Ben said, "let's get you three over to the clinic. I'll go get the truck warmed up." Ben started for the door just as Janey was coming back down the hall.

Janey came back into the kitchen, and sidled up to Bob, linking her arm through his and now ready to hear what had transpired, but also wanting to tell him that their boy was all right. "Adam's okay, I checked him over really well. Mom's helping him get bathed and Jean's keeping an eye on Sally. Poor Adam, he was really scared and said you got shot…what an imagination he's got, huh?"

"Uhm…I did get grazed." Bob saw the stricken look on Janey's face and then hurried on with, "But it's only a flesh wound." Seeing the still horrified look on her face, "Really, honey, it's just a scratch; I'm okay."

Janey flung her arms around Bob and began to sob, choking out, "Oh my God, you could have been killed! Oh Bob, please, can you ever forgive me for all of the mean, mean things I've been saying to you? I love you, I really do." Janey pulled back and swiped her eyes with the back of her hand, then reached for Bob's hand, "C'mon, I'm going to take you to the clinic."

Bob followed along as if he were a puppy on a leash, casting a quick glance over his shoulder towards the group that was watching in amusement. It was hard to believe that just a few hours prior, the couple was at odds with one another.

Mikki glanced over at Pete, whom she was still leaning on to support herself, and smiled, whispering, "I guess the marital problems seem pretty miniscule to Janey in light of Bob's getting shot. He's gonna get babied to death over this, you watch."

Pete bent his head slightly and whispered back, so that only Mikki could hear, "You know, I got beat up pretty bad…maybe even busted up a few ribs…what do you think I might get?" He had a wicked and lecherous smile plastered on his face. The look sent Mikki's heart pounding.

"Hmmm…." Mikki began, "Probably a nice rib wrap, maybe a few pain pills, and if you're lucky, an ornery feeling nursemaid who will probably be on crutches but still can't wait to play doctor with you."

Pete let out low groan, indicating that he was anticipating that little rendezvous in the near future, when they were both feeling a little more up to it. His groan was mistaken for one of pain, as Jim spoke up, "Sounds like I'd better get my partner over to the clinic too, with the way he's moaning and groaning. C'mon Mikki, you give me directions and I'll drive you two in the rental car."

Mikki giggled and Pete rolled his eyes as they followed Jim out to the car. He wasn't about to explain to Jim the real reason he was moaning.

* * *

A few hours later, exhausted and ready for a good night's sleep, Pete and Mikki lay in bed, side by side in the darkened room, both yawning and neither feeling up to anything but dreaming. It had been a long day and an even longer evening.

"Pete?" Mikki ventured.

"Yeah?" He answered in a tired laden voice.

"I love you." Came Mikki's quiet words, followed by a sniffling sound, alerting Pete to the fact that Mikki was trying to fight back her emotions. It was losing battle as she sniffled again and reached out, entwining her fingers with Pete's. "I thought for sure that Billy was going to kill you tonight. I…I was so scared of losing you."

"I love you, too Mikki…more than you realize." There was a short moment of silence and then Pete continued, "You know, it really tore at me when I heard you screaming out there in the woods. Just knowing that I was helpless and couldn't come to your rescue when Billy tried to…" Pete started to roll over onto his side, but stopped when his cracked ribs protested, causing him to catch a quick breath and let out a groan.

"No, don't turn over, just lay still…I'm content with just holding hands right now."

Pete's ribs were hurting even more than they were earlier so he wasn't about to argue. There was so much more he wanted to say. He also knew there was more that Mikki wanted to say, too, but he wasn't going to press her. He knew that in given time, they would talk about what had happened; for now he settled for giving Mikki's hand a gentle squeeze as he closed his eyes, drifting off into a deep and contented sleep. It took Mikki a little longer to fall asleep, but she finally did, secure in the knowledge that the man she loved was safe and sound right next to her.

The End

I want to thank all that have taken the time to read and review this story in the Pete and Mikki saga. I apologize for the lengthy lapse of time while wrapping up the story, but it couldn't be helped, as life often has a funny way of altering one's planned timeline for doing things. Again, thank you to all whom took the time to read; I hope you have enjoyed the story.


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